A Fate Worse Than Death
by Staryday
Summary: Harry is having a rough summer but that's about to change when five strange boys move in across the street. Now Harry is being chased by Death Eaters and the strange teens have agreed to protect him, no matter how long it takes. But how can they protect someone they can't remember? Slash Heero/Duo, Trowa/Quatre, eventual Wufei/Harry and probably a mention of Ron/Hermione
1. What was it curiostiy killed again?

**A/N: So many years years ago, this story was posted. I took it down because I never planned on finishing it and stopped writing fanfiction. I'm back now, and am determined to finish this story, no matter what!**

**Written by Staryday**

**Summary: **Harry is having a rough summer but that's about to change when five strange boys move in across the street. Now Harry is being chased by Death Eaters and the strange teens have agreed to protect him, no matter how long it takes. But how can they protect someone they can't remember? Yaoi Heero/Duo, Trowa/Quatre, eventual Wufei/Harry and probably a mention of Ron/Hermione

**Chapter One: What was it curiosity killed again?**

Harry felt sick.

Not sick as in I'm-going-to-throw-up, but sick as in if I-don't-get-some-serious-help-I'm-going-to-_die_, sick. His chest hurt, whether from being bruised or if his ribs were broken, he wasn't sure. His head throbbed from where it had been repeatedly smashed into a wall. His wrist was swollen and colored red from where it had been stepped on and his ankle hurt. Harry was sure he had twisted it trying to run away. Surprisingly, there was only one small bruise on his cheek and nowhere else.

Harry was currently sitting on the only swing not broken in the park near his relatives' home in Surrey. He didn't want to go home, but didn't have anywhere else to go. He had no way of contacting his friends because he had sent Hedwig away to Ron's where she would be safe from his uncle.

Speaking of whom, he was the one who had caused Harry's injuries. Growing up had never been particularly easy for him, but it hadn't been hard either. Just really lonely. His uncle may have smacked him once or twice for being a smart ass or if Dudley blamed him for something, but never had he gone as far as to beat him. What brought about the change was that an employee at Vernon's company had embezzled thousands of dollars before fleeing the country. Now there was a huge investigation going on and Vernon was under a lot of pressure. He had started going out to the bars after work and coming home drunk where he would rant about how horrible things were.

Harry had made the mistake of getting in the way one night when Vernon was drunk. It hadn't been that bad at first. Vernon had just slapped him around. Nothing serious. As the days went on and things got worse at work the beatings became a little more violent. What had happened tonight was the worst of them. Harry had managed to hit his Uncle over the head with a lamp and run out of the house.

And now the teen sat in the park wondering what he should do. He scratched his head and grimaced at the small amount of dried blood caked in his hair. Maybe he should go to a hospital? He could give them a fake name and disappear as soon as he was taken care of. But the hospital was pretty far; Harry wasn't sure he could walk all the way and had no other means of transportation. So hospital was out.

Really, the only place he could go was back home. The Dursley's had a first aid kit so Harry could take care of himself. He would just have to wait a few hours, to make sure Vernon was asleep —or passed out— before going back. It was a warm night and the park had been his safe haven since he was a little kid. Harry would be fine.

The teen closed his eyes and leaned back on the swing chain, letting his eyes close and falling asleep.

* * *

Duo Maxwell, thief extraordinaire, ex-Gundam pilot, and the most honest person he knew (the term honest was used lightly), calmly made his way down the darkened street of his temporary new home. He had received the message after his last mission that their safe house been compromised and they were assigned a new one. Quatre and Trowa were already there and Heero and Wufei were due to arrive within the week.

From what Duo could see in the dark, they had been landed smack dab in the middle of the boring suburbs of England. If he didn't know the address to their new safe house Duo would never be able to tell it apart from the other houses lining the street. He was half tempted to announce their current location on the internet just so he wouldn't have to stay in the boring neighborhood. But Heero would get mad and yell at him for that or worse, stare at him with that creepy death-glare he had perfected.

Duo shuddered. He _hated_ that death-glare.

Duo pulled his hat down slightly as he walked under a street lamp near a small, beat up park. He glanced curiously at the place, taking note of the trash scattered around and rusty playthings. It was obvious the park wasn't taken care of. He could hear the swings creaking back and forth and paused. There was no wind so why was a swing moving?

Curious, as Duo often was, the braided teen stopped and squinted through the darkness. A small figure was sitting on the only intact swing, swaying back and forth gently. Even more curious now, Duo walked forward, being sure to keep alert for signs of danger. He made it to the swing and stared at the kid with interest.

It was a young boy, maybe thirteen or fourteen, fifteen at the most. He wore clothes that obviously didn't fit him and appeared to be sound asleep. Duo found it an odd resting place. Even when he had lived on the streets he had always made sure to sleep with some sort of protection, even if it was just something as simple as a bush.

There was soft breeze and a faint, coppery scent assaulted Duo's nose. He'd recognize the smell of blood anywhere. Carefully, Duo reached out and touched the boy's forehead, not feeling any fever. His fingers ghosted up his head and found a large lump and small cut on the side just under his hair. The teen shifted, making a noise of complaint.

Frowning, Duo removed his hand and carefully turned the boy's head towards him. He could see a bruise forming on his chin in the dim light from the street. Duo shook the teen, trying to wake him.

"Hey kid," he tried. "Not the smartest place to fall asleep. Kid."

The teen's eyes fluttered open for a brief moment before re-closing. His glasses slipped down his nose and he didn't stir again.

"Well shit," Duo grumbled. "What the hell am I supposed to do now? I can't just leave ya here."

The teen didn't offer any answers as he slept on peacefully. With a sigh, Duo threw his duffle bag strap over his shoulder. He leant over and carefully picked up the boy, bridal style. The kid groaned but made no other noise or sign of waking up. Duo began searching for his new safe house again, trying not to think how mad Heero and Wufei were going to be with him.

Maybe he could get Quatre and Trowa on his side. That way, he wouldn't take all of the heat from the other two. Yeah, Duo was sure he could convince Quatre he had no choice but to bring the kid with him; he could have been hurt! Hell, he was hurt! Sleeping unguarded and wounded in some park wasn't safe at all. And if he could get Quat on his side, Trowa would be a piece of cake.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

"Take him back."

"Quatre!" Duo exclaimed. "Have a heart!"

"I have a heart, Duo," the blonde glared. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to let you bring some stranger into our supposed safe house." He stalked into the kitchen where he had been doing dishes before Duo arrived.

"He's hurt!" Duo tried.

"Then take him to his parents," Quatre sighed. "They'll take good care of him, I'm sure."

"I don't know where his parents are," Duo announced. "I found him in the park, sleeping on a swing."

"The park?" Quatre slowed in his furious scrubbing. "What was he doing there?"

"Sleeping," Duo shrugged, shifting the light boy in his arms. "But I guess if you _really_ want me to take him back there, at night, alone, defenseless, hurt…" The ex-thief trailed off, knowing this would get the blonde.

With a sigh and angry pout, Quatre abandoned the dishes and stalked over to Duo. He lifted the stranger's eye lid and felt for a fever.

"His pupils are dilated," he frowned. "Does he have a concussion?"

"Could," Duo shrugged. "He's a got a nasty bump and cut under his hair."

Quatre felt for the injuries and frowned. "Fine, he can stay."

"All right!"

"For the night!" Quatre interrupted firmly. "We give him drugs to keep him asleep and as soon as he's healed we put him right back at that park and let him go back home."

"Fine with me," Duo agreed. "Get me the first aid kit, will ya?"

Duo practically skipped out of the kitchen into the living room. Trowa was sitting in a chair reading a book. He raised a questioning eyebrow as Duo rested the teen on the couch, arranging his limbs comfortably.

"Found him," Duo explained easily. "We're gonna take care of him for the night and send him home when he's better."

Trowa said nothing as he marked his place in his book and watched the braided ex-pilot undress their new visitor and set his glasses aside. Duo whistled lowly at the faded bruising on his chest.

"Looks like someone stomped the hell outta of him," he commented. "Hey Quatre, bring me some ice too!"

"Do you know who he is?" Trowa asked quietly.

"Nope," Duo removed the teen's pants and covered him with a blanket. "Twisted ankle too. Hey Tro, check his clothes for ID, would ya?"

Trowa did as asked and came up empty handed except for a polished stick. He held it out to Duo, who looked confused.

"It's one thing to carry a stick around," Duo began, "but to shine and polish it too? Weird."

Quatre entered the room then, carrying ice and the first aid kit. He handed them to Duo and left to fetch a bowl of water and a rag to clean up the dried blood. Duo placed the ice on the boy's chest and moved to check out his ankle.

"It's a minor sprain," Trowa offered. "It should heal in a few days, so long as he stays off of it."

Duo nodded in agreement and began carefully wrapping the hurt foot in a bandage. The boy groaned in discomfort and shifted, slowly opening his eyes.

"There's sedative in the case," Duo gestured with his chin. "Give him some, will ya?"

Trowa picked up the drug and filled the syringe with a small amount. Just as pretty green eyes opened, Trowa stuck the needle into a vein. The eyes widened slightly at the two strangers before becoming foggy. A second later, the teen was sound asleep once again.

"Nice eyes," Duo commented. "Reminds me of Quatre, only green." He finished wrapping up the ankle just as the blonde walked back in with a bowl of water.

"How's he doing?"

"He'll be fine," Trowa reported. "Nothing is serious."

"Good," Quatre smiled. "In the morning we'll put him back in the park and make sure he gets home okay. Hopefully Heero and Wufei never find out about this."

"Won't he notice the fact he's been bandaged up?"

"He'll probably just accept it and move on," the blonde shrugged. "Or think that someone helped him during the night."

Quatre sat down and began carefully cleaning the dried blood from the boy's hair. The cut was small enough that it didn't need stitches, just a good cleaning. Quatre took some of the ice resting on his chest and placed it on his head to help with the lump.

"Wonder who beat him up?" Duo mused aloud.

"It was probably just a neighborhood fight," Quatre sighed. "Kids have always picked on smaller kids."

"Yeah," Duo mumbled.

"Well, he's going to be fine," the blonde stood, pleased with his work. "Let's just let him sleep for now. Duo, you'll take him back to the park before the sun is up. Keep on eye on him until then."

"Watch him?!" Duo exclaimed. "But Quat! He's knocked out! He doesn't need to be watched!"

"You brought him here, you keep an eye on him," the blonde ordered. "We are going to bed."

"Quuaaatttrrreee!" Duo whined. The blonde ignored him as he and Trowa disappeared into their room. Duo curled up in the chair. "Great, now I'm stuck on babysitting duty." He grabbed the book Trowa had been reading earlier and settled in for a boring night.

* * *

Harry sighed as he slowly came awake. His back was stiff and he shifted around for a more comfortable position. Not realizing he wasn't in his bed, Harry felt air whoosh past him and his face was suddenly full of dirt.

"What the?" Harry blinked in surprise and looked around. He was still in the park and had fallen off the swing. He must have fallen asleep before going home last night. "Ouch…" Harry could have sworn he heard snickering from a bush nearby but when he looked, there was nothing there.

Shrugging, Harry untangled his leg from the swing and stood up, brushing himself off. His ankle itched and Harry reached down to scratch it. He frowned when he didn't feel skin but some type of gauze. Harry sat back on the swing and lifted his pant leg.

"What?"

A hand went up to feel his hand, noticing the lack of dried blood. The lump felt slightly smaller than last night as well. He checked his chest and realized it wasn't as sore either.

"Okay, this is weird, even for me," Harry muttered aloud.

He swore he heard snickering again and whipped around. He studied the park for movement and saw nothing. Suddenly feeling very paranoid, Harry slowly stepped away from his swing. A cat darted out of the bushes and Harry's head snapped towards it, watching it run down the street. The bushes rustled in a non-existent breeze as Harry turned and ran down the street. He barely felt the spikes of pain in his ankle and didn't stop until he was back at his uncle's house.

Harry stared up at the house in trepidation and sighed. He quietly opened the door and slipped inside. He could hear the TV on and smell food cooking on the stove. Harry decided it would be best to slip upstairs unnoticed. The kitchen door opened and Vernon came into the hall, looking slightly pale and hung-over. He glared as he saw Harry.

"Where the hell have you been, boy?" he demanded angrily.

Harry returned the glare and tilted his head slightly so that his uncle could see the bruise on his cheek. Vernon huffed, turning a nice shade of red as he cleared his throat a couple times.

"Yes well," he muttered. "Go get cleaned up. Petunia has chores for you today."

Harry headed upstairs without a word. At least his Uncle felt some guilt about what he did. Harry couldn't wait until his sixteenth birthday. Screw Dumbledore, the moment Harry was sixteen he was out of this house. He had more than enough money from his parents to be able to live on his own during the summer. And Harry could always get a part time job if he needed it. He glanced at the calendar in his room and sighed. Only five more weeks.

Petunia did have chores for him, and Harry noticed there wasn't as many as usual. He guessed she must feel guilty for her husband's actions to certain extent. Harry hadn't been able to figure out how he had gotten bandaged up. The only thing he could guess was that someone from the Order had come to check up on him and healed him during the night. There was no other logical explanation.

Harry put the matter out of his mind as he dutifully grabbed his chore list and headed outside. The only things he had to do today were clean out the shed and mow the lawn. Nothing too bad, but the shed hadn't been cleaned since last summer when he did it. It would probably take most of the day.

For the next few hours, Harry mowed and cleaned without a complaint. His ankle started hurting more as he put too much strain on it, but Harry forced himself to ignore it. He had been through worse and the appendage would be fine in a few days. Finally, around three that afternoon, Harry finished. Petunia had left for the market ten minutes ago, leaving Harry on his own. Vernon wasn't going to be home until late and Dudley was at his friend's house. Harry had at least two hours on his own.

Happily, Harry headed back inside and made himself a sandwich. As he was eating, he pulled open a kitchen drawer and pulled out a brand-new digital camera. Dudley had whined and whined to get it and his mother had finally given in. His oversized cousin had used it once but hadn't been able to figure out how to get the pictures on the computer and never touched it again. Harry, on the hand, had developed an interest in the thing.

It was a lot more enjoyable to be the one taking pictures instead of having your picture taken. And it helped passed the time so Harry wasn't so bored after he finished his chores. Harry slipped the strap over his head, letting the camera rest on his chest. He headed outside, finishing off his snack and looking around.

He had plenty of pictures of the gardens surrounding the houses and of the houses themselves. What Harry really wanted was to take pictures of people, but he doubted anyone would let him. Trying to find inspiration, Harry noticed a cat casually walking by. He smiled and had the sudden thought of taking some pictures of Ms. Figg and her precious cats. With a large smile, Harry hurried off the porch and followed the kitty home.

* * *

"Just got a message from Wufei," Quatre announced. "He'll be arriving in two days."

"Good. Any news from Heero?" Duo asked.

"No," Quatre shook his head. "He's still on comm. silence." Quatre stepped up to the window and looked out it with Duo. "He lives across the street?"

"Yup," Duo nodded. "Saw him working earlier. This place is sooo boring."

"Get used to it," Quatre smiled. "We'll be here awhile."

**A/N: And so that's the first chapter of this story. I think the chapters get progressively longer as the story goes on. Um I hope you enjoyed the start and that's all. Thanks for reading.**


	2. Tiresome Chores

**A/N: I can't believe how many have said "I remember this story!" I posted this like, years ago. Well I would like you all to know you fill my heart with joy. Lol**

**Please, read and review! I've gotten a lot of Alerts/Faves but not many reviews.**

**Written by Staryday**

**Chapter Two: Tiresome Chores**

It had been a week and there hadn't been any repeats of the beating from before. Vernon only came home drunk twice and each time Harry was sure to stay hidden away in his bedroom. His ankle healed nicely and Harry stopped using the bandage after a few days. The bruising on his face and chest faded and his head didn't hurt anymore. Things went back to the way they had always been with Harry doing chores and the Dursely's ignoring his existence.

It was on a Monday morning that the boring routine changed. Vernon left for work like usual and Petunia and Dudley went with him. Dudley had summer school and Petunia wanted to shop in town. Harry was ordered to do his chores and go straight over to Ms. Figg's house when he was done. He was not to go inside or touch anything, and he was _especially_ not allowed to perform any of his freakishness.

As the happy little family drove away, Harry wasn't able to resist the childish urge to flick them off.

Despite orders to not go into the house, Harry turned and went back inside. He emptied out all the garbage's and dragged the heavy bag to the end of the street. The trash man would be there sometime that day to pick it up. Harry hefted the bag and dropped it into the tin can easily. He then pulled out the small piece of paper his Aunt had given him before leaving.

Harry groaned to himself. "One down, one thousand to go," he complained.

"Lots of chores?" a voice called.

Startled, Harry looked up. Across the street from him was a boy he had never seen before. The boy looked to be Harry's age, maybe a little older, and was only an inch or two taller than Harry himself. He wore loose black clothing and had his hair in a long braid that reached all the way down his back. His eyes were a startling shade of violet that Harry had never seen before. Currently, the teen was standing at the end of his driveway, smiling widely at him.

"Um, a few," Harry answered, realizing he was staring.

"Bummer," he grinned. "Hey, when's trash day? We just moved in and ours is starting to pile up."

"It's today. They usually come between twelve and one."

"Really?" the teen looked disappointed. "Now I gotta take out the trash."

"Bummer," Harry teased. The boy smiled largely at him and Harry returned it.

"Name's Duo. I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie."

"Harry, Harry Potter. Your own catch phrase, how… strange."

"Thank you, I came up with it myself." Duo smirked. "Well, I must go get my trash before my friend has a hernia from the mess."

"Neat freak?"

"Somethin' like that." Duo turned, waving over his shoulder. "Nice to meet ya, Harry."

"You too!" Harry waved back before walking up to the house.

That had been a strange meeting for Private Drive. Very rarely did people just appear and introduce themselves to him. Harry hadn't even known someone lived in the house across the street. It had been for sale for almost two months, according to Aunt Petunia. The sign had disappeared awhile back but no one had noticed any movers or activity from the house so they'd all assumed no one had moved in yet.

A sudden feeling of déjà vu came over him and Harry stopped on the porch. He frowned, turning to look back at the house. For some reason, it suddenly felt like he'd seen that braided teen once before, but no matter how hard he tried to remember, Harry couldn't place his face.

Shaking his head, Harry pushed the thoughts from his mind. Duo wasn't the type of person you forgot easily. If Harry couldn't remember him, then he had probably never met him before today.

An hour later and finally finished with his work, Harry collapsed onto the small loveseat on the porch and allowed himself to relax. He knew he would have to go to Ms. Figg's house, but he wanted a moment alone before going. The digital camera was once again hanging loosely around his neck, fully charged and ready to go. He was kinda bored with taking pictures of Ms. Figg's cats, but the old woman seemed to really enjoy it and it got him out of listening to all her old stories so Harry didn't complain.

Eventually, he got up and made his way to the woman's house, rubbing the back of his neck as it tingled.

* * *

"Ya'see, Fei?" Duo sighed. "He doesn't remember us. He doesn't have a clue."

"He does now, since you so smartly went and introduced yourself," Wufei snapped.

"He's a local kid," Duo dismissed. "He's completely harmless and was hurt. I couldn't just leave him out there."

"Yes, you could have. If he wasn't seriously hurt, he would have been fine without your help. You've comprised yourself and the rest of us. Now we have to contact Preventer Headquarters and switch locations. Again."

"I don't think that'll be necessary," Quatre interrupted the argument. "We're bound to have some interactions with the people living here. It is the suburbs, after all. And it would be unwise to move until Heero gets back."

"You wouldn't even know about him if _someone_," Duo sent Trowa a pointed look that went ignored, "hadn't mentioned it."

"It's good to know I can trust at least one of you to not be reckless," Wufei growled. "If he recognizes us, it's your fault."

"If he was going to recognize us, he would have by now." Duo sighed. "You're so paranoid, Fei-man."

"Don't call me that! And I am not paranoid, I'm being cautious!"

"Yeah, 'cause a thirteen year old kid is going to kick down our door and take us all out while we're sleeping." Duo snickered. "I would _pay_ to see that."

* * *

The next day the entire Dursley family was gone again. Harry had been given a new list of chores to do and told to go to Ms Figg's yet again. Of course, Ms. Figg wasn't home today, nor would she be back for the rest of the week. She was going on vacation to see her brother. She had told Harry to let his family know she couldn't watch him for the rest of the week.

Harry had "accidentally" forgotten to mention it.

Happily, Harry tossed his rag away as he finished scrubbing the porch, his last chore of the day. He glanced at his watch and saw it was only two thirty, leaving him with plenty of time to take Dudley's bike and ride into town. He had e-mailed some of his digital pictures to be printed out and they should be ready by now. Harry picked up all his cleaning supplies and ran inside to take a quick shower before leaving.

Fifteen minutes later, the teen wizard was jumping off the porch, his camera around his neck, and heading to the shed for Dudley's bike. The frame was slightly bent, not having been able to hold all of Dudley's massive weight, but it was still usable. Harry pushed the bike out to the street and noticed a car parked in front of the house across from him.

"Hey Duo!" Harry called.

The braided teen stopped what he was doing and looked up. He waved energetically at Harry and came to the end of his driveway to say hi.

"Where ya headin'?"

"Into town," Harry answered. "I need to pick up something. What about you?"

"Grocery shopping," Duo shrugged. "We ran out of food."

"We?"

Harry glanced over the teen's shoulder and saw two other teens surrounding the car. One was a blonde with kind blue eyes and expensive looking clothing. He was on the short side, being the same height as Duo. He had a cheery disposition and waved when he noticed Harry's stare.

The second teen was at least six feet taller, probably taller. He had long, skinny limbs. His light brown hair was cut to hide half his face, allowing only one green to be seen. He acknowledged Harry with a look but didn't wave like the blonde had. Harry was once again hit with a feeling of déjà vu. He ignored it in favor of seeing a third teen leave the house.

This boy was taller than Duo and the blonde, but shorter than the brunette by at least two inches. He had night black hair slicked back into a short ponytail. He was obviously of Asian decent, Harry guessed Chinese. His eyes were dark and he wore a scowl when he noticed Duo speaking with Harry from across the street.

"You've got four guys living in that house?" Harry asked, turning back to Duo. "I never see any sign of life; I was starting to think you'd left."

"I guess we're just not suburb type people," Duo laughed.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Who would want to be?"

"Duo!" the Asian boy yelled, his voice sharp and impatient. "We're leaving!"

"Keep your pants on!" Duo yelled back. "You said you were heading into town?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "I got some pictures developed that I need to pick up." He held up his camera to emphasize the point.

"Cool, we'll give you a lift," Duo offered cheerfully.

Before Harry could answer, the Asian boy once again shouted at them. "We will not!"

"Sure we will!" Duo called back. "You know where the grocery store is, right?"

"Of course but–"

"Excellent! You can tell us then!" Duo grabbed his arm and dragged him across the street, leaving the bike on the lawn.

"Maxwell, you bastard! Put that kid back!"

Duo pointed at the angry teen. "This is Wufei. Something crawled up his ass long ago and we've never been able to get it out." He ignored the teen's affronted sputtering and turned to the blonde. "This is Quatre, he's the nicest one of the bunch."

"It's nice to meet you," Quatre smiled.

"You too," Harry replied.

"And Mr. Silent over here is Trowa."

"Hullo," Harry nodded. Trowa inclined his head but didn't say anything.

"Harry here is going to show us the best grocery store around," Duo announced. "Get over it, Fei."

"I will not get over it!" Wufei growled. "Maxwell, you are being an even greater idiot than usual!"

"What?!" Duo shouted. He let go of Harry's arm and turned to face Wufei.

"Best to just let them argue." Quatre stepped up to Harry and gently led him away from the now shouting teens. "They do that a lot. Duo finds it entertaining to anger Wufei."

"He doesn't look very entertained…"

The blonde just smiled. "Oh, he is. Did you need a ride into town?"

"Er…" Harry glanced at the other two. "That's okay, I'll be fine. Thanks."

"Oh don't worry about them." Quatre laughed. "We're actually leaving them behind."

The engine started up and Harry glanced at Trowa, who was waiting patiently.

"Leaving them behind?" Harry repeated.

"Taking Duo shopping, of any kind, is an absolute waste of money," Quatre explained. "He buys everything he can get his hands. And Wufei has to stay behind to watch Duo. He tends to… get into trouble when left on his own for too long."

Harry smiled at that. He had the same tendency.

"So let's hurry and go before they notice we're leaving them," Quatre ordered.

Harry shrugged to himself and climbed into the car quickly after Quatre. Trowa pulled away fast, not giving the other two teens a chance to stop them. Duo's surprised shouts followed until they turned the corner.

"Was that really okay?" Harry asked.

"They'll be fine," Quatre assured him. "Now, where should we go first?"

"There's a good market ten minutes from here," Harry offered. He turned around in his seat and put his seat belt on. "It has a lot of organic stuff."

"Organic is good," Quatre mused. "Where did you need to go?"

"Photo Shop," Harry replied. "I need to pick up some pictures."

"Left or right?"

Harry started at Trowa's voice, deep and calming. If the taller teen hadn't been driving, Harry would have forgotten he was there. "Left," he instructed quickly.

"So where are you guys from?" Harry asked curiously, staring upfront. Quatre turned slightly in his seat to speak to him better.

"We travel a lot," Quatre answered. "So we've been many places."

"Do you travel for fun or work?"

"Mostly work," Quatre replied. "We sell real estate all over the world."

"Cool," Harry grinned. He was practically drooling with thought of being able to travel freely with no one trying to kill him. "How'd you end up here?"

"England is one of our most popular selling places. So we've decided to stay for awhile."

"Well you picked a pretty boring town to settle down in."

"Sometimes boring is good. If your name isn't Duo, that is."

Harry laughed just as they pulled into a rather large parking lot for the market place. Trowa found a spot easily and the three boys jumped out. Harry turned to the two.

"Thank you for the ride," he said earnestly.

"Are you going to walk to your photo place?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded, gesturing down the street. "It's only a couple blocks."

"Well meet us back here when you're finished. You can try and find us inside or just wait at the car."

"Oh no, you don't have to…"

Quatre held up a hand to stop his protest. "We brought you, so it would only be fair for us to take you home as well. It's too far to walk on your own."

He had point, Harry mused. He offered the blonde a thankful smile. "Okay. I promise not to take too long."

"I'm sure you'll be finished long before us," Quatre laughed.

Harry shrugged. "Okay, see ya." He ran off down the street, feeling pleased with himself. He hadn't made any new friends since he started Hogwarts.

Quatre and Trowa watched the teen run through the parking lot. "He seems fine. Perhaps it was a one time thing?"

"Abuse is rarely a one time thing," Trowa offered quietly. "It's more likely that he got into a fight with kids his own age."

"You're probably right," Quatre nodded. "Duo overreacted." The blonde perked up and turned towards the large market. "Well, let's go shopping. We should have the place stocked up for when Heero gets here." He looked thoughtful. "Not that we know when that will be, since he's still on comm. silence."

Quatre confidently started forward and Trowa fell instep behind quietly.

* * *

"Thank you," Harry said to the woman who handed him his pictures. He left the store and found a bench by the road to sit at as he looked over his shots.

Most were of Ms. Figg and her cats, but some were of the houses and the garden of Private Drive. He even had a few of the playground. They were mostly good pictures. One he particularly liked was of Tabby, one of Ms. Figg's cats, in mid jump. Tabby was going to land on Puffy, another of Ms. Figg's cats, who was drinking from her bowl, unaware of the danger about to fall on her head.

Harry had to laugh at the picture.

He glanced at his watch and decided to head back to the market. Quatre and Trowa probably weren't done shopping yet but Harry didn't want to make them wait if they were. It was nice for them to give him a ride and he didn't want to abuse their kindness by making them wait. It was rare for people to help him out without expecting anything in return.

A sudden image of Mad-Eye Moody popped into his head screeching CONSTANT VIGILANCE loudly. He would pop a vein if he ever found out Harry had accepted a ride from complete strangers on the first day he met them. Harry could just picture the man spluttering angrily before launching into a long lecture about how not to trust anyone, especially with so many people out to kill him. Harry snickered to himself, ignoring the weird looks people sent his way.

When Harry arrived back at the car, there was no sign of Quatre or Trowa. He climbed onto the hood, glad there was no alarm, and made himself comfortable. He figured it would take too long to find the two in the store and, even if he did, it would be awkward following around two strangers shopping. So Harry decided to sit down and sort through his pictures as he waited.

As he did, Harry realized he had a lot of shots of Tabby. In almost every one she was either preparing to, or in mid, pounce. She was definitely a very active kitten. Ms. Figg would love the pictures when she got back from vacation. He continued sorting them out, separating all of Ms. Figg's cats and the scenery into two separate piles.

"Hello Harry."

Harry nearly fell off the car in surprise. Trowa managed to grab his arm and steady him before he did.

"Quatre! Trowa!" Harry exclaimed. "You scared the crap outta me."

"Sorry," the blonde smiled. "You were pretty into what you were doing."

"Just sorting through a few things," Harry smiled, slipping off the hood. "Wow." He eyed their shopping cart. "I would think four teenage guys would need more food than that."

"There's more than it looks," Quatre smiled. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Harry hurriedly picked up all his stuff and helped put the groceries in the car. Just as they finished, a loud screech drew their attention.

"_Boy_?!"

Harry knew that high pitched tone anywhere. Without a second thought, he grabbed all his pictures and the camera and shoved them into a brown bag before whipping around and _praying_ he was wrong.

Petunia Dursley stood a few cars away from them, carrying a bag full of junk food for Dudley. His cousin was just getting into the car, a large bag of chips in his chubby hand.

"A-aunt Petunia," Harry stuttered. He was mentally cursing his luck. What were the chances of meeting his aunt and cousin at the grocery store when they were supposed to be clothes shopping and he was supposed to be at Ms. Figg's? Then again, it was a grocery store and Dudley had a habit of demanding treats after he got out of summer school.

Petunia stalked forward, looking livid. She didn't seem to notice Quatre and Trowa, who were watching the scene in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded loudly. "You were told to go straight to Ms. Figg's after your chores were done!"

Harry didn't want his aunt to find out the woman was gone on vacation. Not only would it get him into more trouble, but he would get stuck with his aunt for the rest of the week instead of having time to himself.

"I-I told her I didn't need to come over," Harry lied quickly.

"Oh really?" Petunia scowled. She shot a hand out and grabbed a tuff of his hair. "Well we'll just see what Vernon has to say about you lying and running off. I swear if you've been doing any of your…_freakishness_…" she dragged Harry by the hair and practically threw him into the car before getting in herself. "Oh, Vernon will have your head. And there'll be no supper for a week!"

Harry sighed. "Yes Aunt Petunia."

The car backed up and Harry glanced out the window towards Quatre and Trowa. Quatre looked very shocked at what had happened while Trowa still had an emotionless face. He smiled apologetically at them as the car drove away.

* * *

Harry watched dejectedly as Vernon finished attaching four thick metal bars to his bedroom window, just as he had done when Harry was younger. Unfortunately for him, Vernon had come home plastered last night. Petunia had told him all about Harry's trip into town and lying and Harry had paid the price for it.

Harry's eye was swollen shut (who would have guessed such a large, out of shape man, would have such a strong punch), and his wrist was red and irritated. Vernon had dragged him around violently by it and twisted it more than once. He still had the bandage from when someone wrapped his ankle up but now it was wrapped tightly around his wrist instead.

After one more screw, Vernon gave the bars a good tug. Satisfied they wouldn't budge, he climbed down the ladder. He cast a look at Harry but didn't say anything as he took care of the ladder. Harry noticed that Vernon rarely spoke to him when evidence of his beatings was right before him. Having the fat man ignore him was almost worth getting knocked around every now and again. Almost.

With a resigned sigh, Harry turned around, hoping that he still had some food stashed away in his room.

* * *

"What's with all the noise?" Duo groused, scratching his head. Fighting with Wufei for almost the entire day yesterday had left him worn out. And when Quatre and Trowa came back with groceries, Duo had spent the hours being moody and uncooperative to get back at them for leaving him behind.

"It would appear," Quatre began, putting a plate of pancakes before Duo, "that Harry's getting bars on his window."

"What?"

Duo jumped up and ran to the window to see for himself. Sure enough, metal bars had been fixed into place and the braided teen could see Harry staring out the window dejectedly.

"What in the world did they do that for?"

"The only thing we can guess was that he wasn't allowed in town yesterday. His aunt seemed very upset. She didn't even notice us."

"Breaking the law gets you bars," Duo frowned. "Going for a joy ride gets you grounded. Man, what freaks did Une move us next to?"

"Maxwell!" Wufei's voice shouted from the living room.

"What?" Duo yelled back, stuffing some food into his mouth.

"Message from Heero."

Duo was up and in the living before Quatre even had a chance to turn around. He leaned over Wufei's shoulder to read the short text on his laptop.

_Mission Accomplished. E.T.A.: 23 hours._

Duo smiled in relief. "Tomorrow then." Suddenly feeling much happier, Duo skipped back into the kitchen and finished his breakfast with gusto.

* * *

Harry hummed to himself as he cleaned out the rain gutters. Leaves and various dead bugs were practically glued to the metal and Harry had to scrape hard to get them clean. He wasn't particularly enjoying his work, in fact, he was cursing his relatives in his head, but Harry was bored with the silence and humming seemed to help pass the time. The work was slow going because he had to use his left hand instead of his right, which was still sore.

Harry's quiet humming was interrupted when a voice called for his attention, nearly startling him enough fall off the ladder. Harry steadied himself and looked down to meet black eyes. He recognized the boy as Wufei, who Duo had introduced him to yesterday.

"Hullo," Harry greeted politely. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Before the teen could answer the door was flung open and Dudley and a group of his friends came stomping out. Without caring, they knocked into the ladder as they ran past, completely ignoring Harry and Wufei.

Harry tried to grab onto something as the ladder swayed, but the gutters were too wet to get a good grip on. The ladder fell to the left while Harry tumbled backwards to the right. There was a loud clanging sound as the ladder hit the ground. Harry felt himself fall through the air and braced himself for a painful impact. However instead of hitting the hard ground, he landed on something semi-soft that stopped his plummet painlessly.

Harry looked up, blinking his good eye in shock. Wufei had managed to catch him and, not only that, he hadn't fallen himself, only stumbled a few steps. The Asian boy looked quite annoyed at the predicament and quickly put Harry down. His arms lingered just long enough to make sure Harry wasn't going to fall before stepping away.

"Um, th-thank you," Harry stuttered quickly.

The door flung open again and Petunia Dursley stormed out. "What is all the racket?! What is going on?"

"I fell off the ladder, Aunt Petunia," Harry explained quickly. "Sorry to have disturbed you."

"You did not fall," Wufei interrupted. Petunia turned a cold glare on the boy and Harry shot him a look that clearly said, _shut up_! Wufei ignored them both and pressed on. "He was knocked over by those oversized children as they ran by."

Petunia opened and closed her mouth in angry shock, disbelieving that a complete stranger had just called her son oversized. Harry prayed that the well-intentioned teen would just shut up and leave.

"How dare you—!"

"If you are going to punish someone, you should punish the correct person," Wufei stated. "It would be unjust to do anything but!" his glare turned to Harry. "And you should not cover for those who commit misdeeds."

"And who are you to tell me how to run my household?" Petunia shrieked. "What are you doing on my property?"

"These were left among our belongings yesterday," Wufei stated, pulling out Harry's camera and pictures. "I am returning them."

"No!" Harry exclaimed. He tried to grab the objects but Petunia snatched them from Wufei's hands.

"This is Dudley's camera," she frowned. She pierced Harry with an angry look. "Who gave you permission to use Dudley's things? And what were you doing associating with _our_ neighbors?"

Harry had no answer, not that it would have done him any good, so he stayed quiet. She pursed her lips angrily and pointed at the door.

"Go to your room! You will not come out until Vernon gets home, is that understood?"

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," Harry sighed. He dejectedly headed into the house. "And you," the woman rounded on Wufei, "kindly remove yourself from my property this instance and do not return. We don't need… _your_ kind in our home." She turned and stomped back into the kitchen, slamming the door shut behind her and leaving a highly affronted and pissed off Wufei.

* * *

**A/N: Originally I was going to modify Harry and have him discover a love for taking pictures but then decided that was too OOC so I toned it down to him just enjoying it as a casual pastime, nothing big. Once he leaves Privet Drive it falls out of the story all together. Sorry if it bugs anyone.**

**If anyone remembers Suspicious Behavior, I'm working on part three right now. Hopefully you'll see it posted in the near future.**


	3. Muggle Exam

**The reason the guys are constantly switching safe houses and what not is because they still have lots of enemies from the wars. Quatre is with them mostly because he's worried for his friends. He's still CEO of his company as will be seen in future chapters. I'm sorry for not explaining this in the story itself. I'm going to try and slip it in in a couple of chapters.**

**Chapter Three: Muggle Examination**

After the incident with Wufei, Harry was grounded to his room for three days with no meals. The only good thing about the arrangement was that he got out of doing chores. When his uncle had come home, Petunia had told him what Harry had done. Vernon began burning all Harry's pictures and hid the camera.

Being locked up in his room left Harry with nothing to do. He had finished all his homework and read everything interesting and even everything boring he possessed. Hermione would be proud to find out he had read almost all of his school textbooks. Harry had taken to either sleeping the days away or staring out the window boredly. It was because of this that he saw a fifth boy join the others at the house across the street.

He was average height and skinny. Harry wasn't sure why, but he got the feeling that he was used to giving orders and having them followed without question. His hair was black, though not as dark as Harry's, and Harry couldn't make out his face from this distance.

Duo had been excited to see him, though. He had come running out the front door and practically tackled the new teen. The newcomer seemed to have been expecting this and caught the hyper brunette easily, directing him back to the door where a happy Quatre was waiting to greet him as well.

Harry sighed and crawled away from the window. He was a little irritated with the guys living across from him. He knew he was being unfair, but damn it, his whole life was unfair. He deserved to be a little bratty every now and then. Sneaking out had been his fault and the ladder incident had been all Dudley, but that Wufei guy didn't have to make it worse by arguing with his aunt and then showing her his pictures.

Finally, on the morning of the third day, Vernon unlocked his room and let Harry out. The first thing he did was take a nice, long shower. The next thing was get some food into his stomach. Walking downstairs had been slightly painful. He had a bruise on his back from his uncle kicking him two nights ago in a drunken rage. Harry ignored the pain though, thinking to himself he only had a little more than two weeks left in the house before his birthday and then he was out of there.

After he was finished eating, Petunia handed him a list of chores. "Make sure you do all these and then it's straight to Ms. Figg's. And if you disobey us one more time, you'll be locked in that room for the rest of the summer!"

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," Harry intoned quietly.

Surprisingly, she left him on his own for the day. Harry had not expected that. Dudley was back in summer school and Vernon was at work. Harry's chores consisted of the standard cleaning everything to perfection, mowing the lawn, tending the garden, and finishing the rain gutters.

Seeing as how everything was clean anyways, Harry skipped that one and moved onto the next. Mowing had been a painful experience and Harry's back ached horribly by the time he was done. Gardening just made it worse. Constantly bending over to pull out weeds felt like someone was repeatedly poking him in the back with a sharp stick. Harry desperately whished he could take his shirt off in the heat, but he didn't want to risk anyone seeing his bruises. He looked bad enough with his eye still swollen.

Once the garden was done, Harry decided to take a break. His stomach was growling loudly but Petunia had locked him out of the house before she left, so he couldn't get anything to eat. His back was sore and Harry dreaded the thought of climbing the ladder and finishing the rain gutters. He would probably skip it altogether if he didn't know that Petunia would check his progress when she returned home.

Harry made his way up the porch and curled up on the love seat. He sighed in relief as his back relaxed and some of the pain faded away. Harry closed his eyes, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep and forget all about chores.

A shadow fell over his face and Harry suddenly smelled the most wonderful thing in the world. He popped his good eye open and blinked at Duo and Quatre standing over him. Duo was smiling widely and Quatre held a plate of sandwiches and piece of apple pie. Harry sat up quickly, not even getting a word of greeting out before Duo sat down next to him.

"Hi!" he exclaimed.

"Hullo," Harry said back, more out of habit than being polite. "What are you two doing here?"

"We saw you working and thought you might want something to eat," Quatre explained, holding out the food.

"Thank you," Harry said sincerely. He was too hungry to question their motives and instead grabbed a sandwich and ate half of it in one bite.

Duo laughed at his enthusiasm. "Calm down. We're not going to suddenly change our minds and take the food away. You can afford time to chew."

Harry swallowed his rather large bite and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I haven't eaten all day."

"You shouldn't over exert yourself," Quatre scolded gently. "Especially on such a hot day as this. You should have plenty to eat and drink."

"And you should be wearing something lighter," Duo tugged at his shirt. Harry offered an apologetic smile and pulled his oversized shirt out of Duo's grip.

"I'll keep that in mind," he promised.

Harry ate the rest of his sandwich happily before going for another. Duo and Quatre allowed him a moment of peace before speaking again.

"So what happened to your face?" Duo asked, just as Harry took a bite.

Harry swallowed hard and coughed into his hand, Quatre gently patting his back.

"It's a long story," Harry answered once he'd stopped coughing. "I don't really feel like talking about it."

"Fair enough," Duo nodded. "Then… what are you hiding under your shirt?"

Harry frowned at the food in his hand. He slowly placed it back on the tray and wiped his mouth.

"Thank you both for the food," he said politely, "but I need to finish my chores now."

"With how badly you're limping," Quatre interrupted, "you shouldn't be doing anything strenuous."

"I'm fine, thanks," Harry stood and smiled at the two.

Quatre sighed and Duo rolled his eyes. "You know, it pisses me off when some bastard has to beat up a kid just to get off, but it pisses me off twice as much when the kid doesn't do anything about it when they can."

Harry's eyes narrowed but inside he felt a thrill of worry. "Excuse me?"

"Harry, it's rather obvious," Quatre frowned. "I'm surprised no one's said anything before now."

"What's obvious?" Harry frowned, still feigning ignorance.

"You're face's swollen shut, Wufei said you got in trouble for your cousin knocking _you_ down, you're limping, and we've seen you locked up in your room for days. Not to mention the bars," Duo listed. "It's _obvious_ to anyone with half a brain."

"Duo and I were just worried," Quatre assured. "We hate seeing child abuse."

"Yeah, adults beat the shit outta each other enough, they don't need to start beating kids too."

Harry stared between the two, annoyed and thankful at the same time. No one had ever taken his side against his Uncle, mostly because they believed the lies he and Petunia told about him. But these two were complete strangers and, not only had they noticed his treatment faster than anyone, they actually cared enough to say something about it. It lightened Harry's heart to hear someone care.

Despite that, he couldn't have them saying anything and ruining his plans. If they told muggle police, it would attract the Order's attention and Harry wouldn't have a chance of running away unnoticed.

"…Fine. What do I have to do to keep you from saying anything?" he asked coldly. The two stared at him in surprise.

"What?" Duo demanded.

"I'm pretty good around the house," Harry informed them. "And I'm a really good cook. If there are any chores, cleaning, or something's broken, I can take care of it."

"Woah woah," Duo held a hand up to stop him. "What are you talking about?"

"Why would you not want us to say anything?" Quatre asked in confusion.

"Yeah, you a masochist or somethin'?"

"No!" Harry shook his head. "Look, I turn sixteen in seventeen days."

"You're fifteen?!" Duo exclaimed.

Harry shot him an annoyed glare. "Yes, I'm just a little short."

"A little?"

"My _point_," Harry snapped, "is that when I turn sixteen, I'm leaving. I'll have full access to the money my parents left me and I'll be free to go wherever I want. I just have to tough it out for a few more days. _But_," and here he looked pointedly at the two, "if someone tells on me and I get caught before hand, there's no way my aunt or uncle will let me leave."

"Oh," Duo smiled. "So you do plan on doing something."

"Yeah, in seventeen days," Harry assured. "So _please_, don't say anything to anyone."

"Harry, someone else is bound to notice," Quatre pointed out logically. "The abuse isn't exactly subtle."

Harry snorted and rolled his eyes. "Oh please. Everyone in this neighborhood could see my uncle hit me over the head with a bat and they wouldn't care. I grew up with these people. They all know me as the insane, criminal boy who shouldn't be allowed near children because he might hurt, or worse, corrupt them."

"You're joking." Duo stared at him in disbelief.

Harry laughed. "Afraid not. So you guys won't tell anyone?" He looked at them pleadingly. "I'll do whatever you want… within reason."

"Of course we won't say anything," Quatre promised. "But you have to agree to let us treat you."

"Treat me?" Harry replied dubiously.

"Your eye needs to be looked at and you should be putting ice on it every night to help with the swelling. And your back seems to be giving you a lot of trouble."

"I'm fine," Harry assured him. "Thank you for your concern, but I can deal with it."

"No," Duo said. "It's either you accept our help or we rat you out so fast it'll make your head spin."

Harry opened his mouth to protest and closed it again. He pouted at the two older boys, who looked unrelenting.

"I'm really okay," he tried one last time.

"We'll be the judge of that," Quatre smiled at him, knowing they'd won. Harry's pout deepened.

"Fine."

"All right!" Duo cheered. "I knew it was a good idea to bring you home that night I found you in the park!"

"…What?"

"Duo!"

* * *

Quatre and Duo managed to convince Harry to come over to their house. He felt very out of place getting medical help from anyone beside Madam Pomfrey. In his whole life, Madam Pomfrey was the only nurse he had ever had. If he had ever gotten sick as a child, Petunia would give him over the counter medicine and leave him alone. She never took him to get check ups or physicals. Harry definitely felt strange about the entire situation.

Duo opened the door with a flourish and loudly announced their arrival. Sitting at the kitchen table was Trowa and the brunette boy Harry had seen arrive from his room. They both looked up at the noise, Trowa offering a nod of greeting but the other boy glared. He shot Duo a look that the braided teen could obviously read easily as he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Harry, that's Heero," Duo pointed at him. "Don't mind him." He bounced to the other teen and wrapped an arm around his thin shoulders. "He's not into strangers."

"Why don't you go ahead and wait in the living room?" Quatre suggested politely. "Duo and I will be there in a moment."

"…Right," Harry muttered. He glanced once more at the other two before ducking his head and hurrying from the kitchen.

Once he was gone, Duo playfully whapped Heero's head. "Scare the poor kid, why don't you?"

"Who is he?" Heero demanded.

"I told you," Duo shrugged, "he's the kid across the street. The one who's uncle beats the shit out of. Quatre and I are just gonna make sure he's okay and then send him on his way."

"Duo…" Heero warned.

"It'll be fine, Heero," Quatre interjected. "He's already told us himself he plans on leaving in a little more than two weeks, so it's not like this is going to become a project or anything."

"Yeah, we're just gonna make sure he doesn't get hurt too bad before then," Duo shrugged. "No harm in that."

"It is a security risk," Heero deadpanned.

Quatre turned a glare on the stoic teen. "I can not, in good conscious, turn my back when I know there is a child being abused and I can do something to help. I've seen too many people hurt each other. We all have."

Heero grunted and looked away, his way of giving his grudging approval. Duo smiled and kissed his cheek. "Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll cause a breach in security. Then we could get the hell out of this boring place." Quatre snickered but Heero glared. Duo just shrugged and bounced out of the kitchen.

Harry was sitting uncomfortably on the couch, fidgeting nervously when Duo and Quatre entered the room, carrying some basic first aid. He immediately stilled his hands when he saw them but didn't relax his stiff posture.

"You look like a cornered dog about to run for its life," Duo teased. Harry glared at him.

"Take your shirt off, please," Quatre ordered.

Harry stiffened even more, if that was possible, and glanced around. He didn't see any indication that the other members of the house would come into the room and reluctantly pulled the clothing over his head. He refused to look at either Duo or Quatre as the two began their work.

Quatre ran his hands down Harry's back gently. "You need to relax, Harry," he told him. "I want to check to make sure there's nothing wrong with your spine." Inside, he was seething. The bruise on Harry's back was in the shape of a foot and covered most of the lower back area.

Taking a deep breath, Harry forced himself to relax. The relief on his muscles felt nice after being tense so long and working so much. Quatre's hands resumed their testing easily.

"Okay, let me see your eye," Duo ordered. Harry looked up at him obediently. He flashed a small light into his eye, nodding when everything looked fine.

"Are you two doctors or something?" he asked, uncomfortable with the silence.

"We travel a lot and don't always have medical help when we need it," Duo explained casually. "So we took a few courses to be able to help each other if we ever needed to."

"Traveling doctor real estate agents?" Harry teased lightly.

"Jack-of-all-trades," Duo laughed. "That's us."

"Owe!" Harry flinched, pulling away from Duo's hands.

"Me or Duo?" Quatre asked, stopping as well.

"Duo," Harry mumbled suddenly back to his shy demeanor. "That hurt."

"Sorry."

Quatre came to look and Duo indicated where he had touched. Despite the two being gentle, Harry still flinched when they poked at his bruise.

"Have you done anything to take care of this?" Quatre asked.

Harry shrugged. "I put some ice on it the next morning."

"Well the swelling's pretty bad," Quatre sighed. "You should see a doctor and get X-rays done."

Harry blinked at him, keeping silent. The blonde sighed.

"But there doesn't look to be anything broken and the eye itself is okay," he amended. "From now on, you're going to hold ice to it every night for at least twenty minutes, but no more than thirty."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Gee, maybe I should get one of my Uncle's steaks too."

Duo rolled his eyes. "That whole steak-on-the-eye thing is a total myth."

Harry cracked a smile. "Anything else?"

"Your back's fine," Quatre informed. "It'll be sore until the bruise fades. You might want to put some ice on it too. And you shouldn't be doing any strenuous activities until it's better."

"Okay," Harry agreed easily, not meaning it. Quatre and Duo sighed, sitting back.

"Well, nothing permanent," Duo concluded. "Just watch the eye."

"Fair enough," Harry agreed.

"Quatre," a voice called and Wufei entered the room. He stopped in surprise at seeing Harry.

"Oh Wufei," Quatre smiled. "Did you need something?"

Harry snatched his shirt and quickly pulled it over his head as he stood. "Uh, you guys obviously have other stuff to do, so I'll just go now."

"Hey—"

"Thanks for everything," Harry muttered quickly.

He slipped past Wufei and didn't look at Trowa or Heero as he practically ran out the door and back across the street. No one followed him, for which Harry was grateful. That had been very strange. When Harry thought about it, it was probably his first muggle examination ever.

Harry headed to the garage and got out the ladder, setting it into place. All he had to do was finish the rain gutters and he was free for the rest of the day. A sweet smell hit his nose and Harry looked at the loveseat, noticing the food Duo and Quatre had brought for him was still there. The piece of apple pie still looked warm.

Shrugging, Harry sat down and decided to eat before finishing. No point in letting good food go to waste, after all.

* * *

**A reviewer pointed out that Petunia should have also freaked out about Dudley's bike being out on the lawn where Harry left it. I completely and utterly forgot about it when writing. I'm sorry. Let's just pretend she thought Dudley left it there and didn't think it was Harry's fault. Is that allowed? I seem to be forgetting a lot of things lately.**

**So this chapter is short but the next one is extra long and will move the story forward. Hope you guys enjoyed!  
**


	4. Be Careful What You'e Aiming At

**Chapter Four: Be Careful Where You're Aiming At**

Harry rarely saw Duo or Quatre over the next week. He did as he'd been told and kept ice on his eye at night for twenty minutes. Harry was pleased when he noticed a definite decrease in swelling. By the end of the week, he could open his eye again and it didn't hurt when he touched it. His back was also getting better and only bothered him when he had to bend over to garden. Things had calmed down at Vernon's work as well, so he didn't go out drinking once. And, to top it all off, Harry had found where Vernon hid the camera and had stolen it back. It now hid under his loose floorboard.

Harry woke up on Friday to hear his aunt knocking on the door and shouting at him to hurry and make breakfast. Petunia and Dudley were going shopping together to celebrate Dudley passing summer school, and Vernon was taking them into town when he went to work. Harry was supposed to do his chores and go to Ms. Figg's, but what his relatives didn't realize was that he had finished all his chores yesterday. Once the Dursleys left, he would have the entire day to himself.

When the car pulled away and Harry was left on his own, he couldn't help but punch the air and hiss, "Yes!" to himself. He was locked out of the house again, but that was alright, because Harry had his camera in his pocket and had snatched the newspaper when his uncle was done with it.

Harry was going apartment shopping.

He sat on the love swing of the porch, skimming through the ads and circling the ones that sounded interesting. He hummed happily as he searched the paper.

"What, no chores today?"

Harry looked up, surprised to see Duo and, even more surprising, Wufei. He smiled at them both.

"Hullo," he greeted. "You guys are up early."

"Nah we're always up this early," Duo said. "What are you doing?"

Harry's smile widened. "Only one and half more weeks and I'm outta here." He held the paper up. "I was gonna go to town today and find an apartment."

"Sweet!" Duo cheered. "Good for you. Let's see what you got."

Harry handed him the paper and let Duo look through it. While he was doing that, Harry turned to Wufei and smiled politely.

"How's it going?" he asked conversationally.

Wufei, Harry noticed, looked slightly uncomfortable. Wufei caught the boy's eye and straightened his back. "I wish to apologize."

Harry blinked at him. "For what?"

"Wuffers thinks he can control the world," Duo snickered.

"Maxwell!" Wufei shouted. Harry smiled at the funny nickname and the teasing tone of Duo's voice. The Chinese boy glared at Duo once more (which was completely ignored) before turning back to Harry. "I wanted to apologize if I caused trouble for you."

"…When did you cause trouble for me?" Harry asked, still not getting it.

"When I returned your camera," Wufei elaborated starting to get frustrated.

"Oh," Harry shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Thanks for catching me when I fell, though."

Wufei nodded sharply and didn't say anything else. Harry gave him a confused look until Duo got his attention, pointing at the places he had circled.

"Not exactly going for cheap, are you?" he asked.

Harry looked at his selection. "I wasn't really looking at prices," he admitted. "I just want a place big enough that I can have an entire room to myself and still have enough space to invite my friends over." Harry smiled, slightly sad. "I usually stay with them during the summer, to get away from here, but I couldn't this year." Dumbledore had declared it wouldn't be safe. With Voldemort now officially back and active Harry needed to stay hidden until it was time for school to start.

"I can understand that, but how are you going to afford nine hundred a month plus utilities? Especially when you don't have a job."

Harry glanced at the paper then back up at Duo, looking sheepish. "Is that a lot?"

"Have you no concept of money?" Wufei demanded. Harry just shrugged, his cheeks tinting red.

Growing up with the Dursleys, Harry had never been given any money nor had any money spent on him. When he reached the wizarding world, Harry received his inheritance from his parents. He wasn't sure how much exactly was in his vault, but he had never had to think twice about affording stuff for school or anything else he wanted to buy. Though he would never say it to Ron, he was rich. Money wasn't an issue.

"These are all so plain," Duo complained. "You should move up to the colonies. L2's the best."

Harry grinned widely. "That would be so awesome! I've never been to space."

"You don't know what you're missing. Quatre could probably get you a real good deal on something up there."

Harry's grin dimmed. "Maybe when I graduate school. I go to boarding school year round. It would be pretty hard to live in space for three months and then come back for school."

"Boarding school?" Duo made a face. "Yuck."

"Not at all! My school's really great. It's the only place I've ever called home."

Wufei's cell phone went off and he stepped to the side to answer it.

"You call school home?" Duo shook his head. "That's so wrong." Harry laughed.

"Confirmed." Wufei snapped his phone closed. "Maxwell."

Duo glanced at him.

"We have an assignment."

Duo sighed, handing the paper back to Harry. "Gotta go. Let us know what you decide, me and Quatre can check it out for you."

Harry nodded happily. "Thanks."

"See ya later, kid."

"Bye Duo, bye Wufei!"

* * *

Harry arrived home a good hour before the Dursleys were due back. It had gone okay, but a lot of the landlords had been hesitant to show Harry what they had available. Apparently, they didn't think a soon-to-be sixteen year old boy could afford their places. Harry was shocked when he walked up the steps and found his beloved Hedwig waiting patiently for him on the porch. Harry gave a happy cry and ran forward, scooping her into his arms.

"What are you doing here, girl?" Harry petted her as she nipped at his fingers. "I told you to stay with Ron, where you would be safe." She hooted and nipped his ear. "Awe, I missed you too."

Harry sat on the porch, waiting for someone to get home as he was still locked out. Hedwig flew around his head a few times, but mostly stayed on Harry's shoulder, enjoying his constant stroking as they waited. An hour came and went and still no one had come home. Harry hoped they hadn't gone out to eat. He had eaten one hotdog while apartment shopping and that was it. He didn't relish the idea of missing a meal because the happy family had gone out to dinner without him.

Finally, two hours later, the car drove up into the driveway. Harry stood up, hoping that his Uncle wouldn't freak out about Hedwig being back. He watched as Vernon stumbled from the car but was confused when no one else followed him. The fat man slammed the door shut and swayed as he stomped up to the house.

"You, boy!" he slurred. Harry could see he was drunk and was suddenly on guard. He had finally gotten the swelling to down in his eye; he didn't need for this man to make it worse again. "Inside, now!"

Obediently, Harry followed. He shut the door quietly, planning on making a quick escape to his room as soon as Vernon got out of the way of the stairs. Of course, when could Harry Potter ever be that lucky? Hedwig hooted loudly, drawing the man's attention before Harry could shush her.

"What is that ruddy… pigeon doing here?" he demanded, his voice scratchy and words slightly slurred. "I thought I said to get rid of it."

"She missed me. Don't worry, she'll be gone before tonight."

"You're damn right it will be!" Vernon roared and made a drunken lunge for Harry and Hedwig.

Hedwig screeched loudly and tried to fly away, only getting as high as the ceiling. Harry was pinned under the large man's weight, hitting his head on the wall before falling to the floor. Vernon ignored him, trying to snatch at Hedwig.

"Disgusting bird!" he roared. "I will not tolerate anymore filth in this house!"

"Don't touch her!" Harry yelled, trying to get past him in the narrow hall and get to Hedwig first. "Don't touch Hedwig!"

"Out of my way!" He backhanded Harry hard enough to send him flying. Harry shook his head, seeing stars. "That bird needs to go!" He ran for the living room and Harry scrambled after him.

"Hedwig, come here!" Harry called desperately. The owl, recognizing the safety in her master's arms, flew right to him. Harry held her protectively to his chest just as he heard a loud cocking sound, like that of a gun. Harry whipped his head up just in time to see Vernon point a pistol right at him and pull the trigger.

* * *

Heero's eyes snapped open and his mind cleared instantly as he heard a gunshot ring through the silent neighborhood. His own small gun was in his hand faster than the eye could see and Heero was out of bed, crouched low in a defensive position. He cautiously made his way to the door.

Heero did a fast sweep of the hallway, determining it to be empty. He held his gun at the ready as he made his way through the other rooms, making sure they were clear before heading downstairs.

Trowa slipped out of the kitchen, his weapon aiming at Heero for a split second, and vise versa, before they recognized each other and stood down. Trowa nodded to Heero.

"Downstairs is clear."

"Upstairs clear. Location?"

"Unknown. Sounded like it came from outside."

Cautiously, the two headed towards the door, being careful not to show themselves in the window. Heero peered out the window carefully, scanning the street for enemies. A fast movement caught his eye and Heero snapped his gaze across the street. He watched as a teen flew from the front door as fast as if the devil himself were chasing him. A white blur flew into the sky next, Heero's quick eyes seeing it and naming it as an owl. He watched as the teen ran down the street, not stopping to look back.

Heero turned to Trowa, noticing that he had also watched what happened.

"That was Harry," Trowa confirmed. "Duo and Quatre's new friend. He didn't seem like the type to shoot anyone."

"Duo confirmed abuse. It is not uncommon."

"We should go after him. They would be upset if we did not."

Duo, Quatre, and Wufei had all been called out on separate missions earlier that day, leaving Heero and Trowa alone. Not a very common occurrence, since Heero was usually the most likely to be gone on a mission.

"I will apprehend the subject. You will check on the house's other occupants." Heero ordered. Trowa nodded, storing away his gun but keeping it within easy reach. Heero did the same.

* * *

Harry's feet were starting to hurt. He had taken his shoes off while waiting for his relatives to get back and hadn't put them back on when Vernon showed up. Now Harry was running on the hard road in bare feet and it was starting to slow him down. Tears were dried on his cheeks and the adrenaline was starting to wear off now that he was farther away from Vernon. Harry looked around and noticed he had run all the way to the end of the subdivision. There was a large sign by the main road and Harry took refuge behind it, hiding himself in the bushes.

He curled his knees to his chest, shaking like a leaf. He couldn't believe his uncle had just tried to shoot him. Granted, he had been aiming for Hedwig, but Harry had been holding her at the time. And not only that, but he had done accidental magic again. A shield charm had appeared around him just in time to stop the bullet. The gun his uncle was holding had been cut in half, becoming useless.

Harry and Vernon had stared at each other in varying degrees of shock and horror. It had been Hedwig's fearful hoot that prompted Harry back into action. He had turned and ran as fast he could from the house, not stopping for anything. Once he was outside he threw Hedwig into the air, ordering the owl to go straight back to Ron's and never come back to Privet Drive.

Now Harry wasn't sure what to do. He knew Ministry officials would be sent to investigate and even if they didn't come, the Order would. Harry's chances of sneaking away were shot. And he had been so close! Just one more week and Harry would have been free.

Harry buried his face in his knees, taking deep breaths. He needed a plan. He couldn't go back to the Dursley's and he had no way of contacting anyone for help. Ms Figg should be back from her vacation by now, so Harry decided she was the best place to start. She had connections to the Order and would hopefully be able to help him contact Dumbledore.

Harry uncurled from his position and slowly began crawling from his hiding place. Just as he stuck his head from the bushes, a piece of circular metal greeted his face. Eyes wide and scared, Harry stared up at the gun and raised his eyes to see Heero staring coldly at him.

Harry simply looked at the other boy, not understanding. He had never spoken to Heero, only having met him once. Duo would sometimes bring him up in conversation and seemed to be pretty found of the teen. Though his hyper friend had never mentioned the fact the Heero apparently carried around a gun and had no problem pointing it at people.

Man, what was up with people trying to shoot him tonight?

Swallowing, Harry sat back on his heels, letting Heero have the next move. He was the one with the gun, after all.

The blue eyed teen frowned at him, moving the pistol slightly to the side, but still keeping it trained on Harry. "Get up."

Slowly, Harry obeyed, nearly stumbling when he put weight on his sore feet. He tried to stand on the end of his feet, which didn't hurt at much.

"What happened?"

Harry fidgeted nervously, eyeing the gun. "What do you mean?"

"There was a gunshot."

Harry didn't really want to talk about it, but he could tell not saying anything wouldn't be the smartest choice. "My um, uncle, tried to shoot my pet bird."

"Snow-white owl, black spots on wings."

Harry looked at him in surprise. "Yeah. He didn't like her in the house and tried to shoot her."

"Why did you run?"

Harry didn't answer. He didn't know what would happen if he admitted that he had been holding Hedwig at the time. Harry figured what Vernon did could technically be considered attempted murder. If the Order ever found out about this, all Harry's chances of running away would be gone. He'd probably be taken to Grimmauld Place and locked away for the rest of the summer.

Heero suddenly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cell phone. He kept the gun trained on Harry with one hand, his eyes watching his every movement. He listened to whoever was on the other line before nodding and flipping the phone shut.

"Trowa confirmed your story," he informed Harry, stowing the gun away.

Harry's face looked panic. "He didn't go over there, did he?!"

"Your uncle has passed out. Let's go."

Heero turned but Harry didn't move. He didn't want to go back. It may have been cowardly, but he didn't want to go back to that house ever again. Vernon may not have been trying to kill him, but the fact remained that he almost had. The only way Harry was going back was to get his belongings and then leaving, ASAP.

Heero noticed his hesitation and turned back around. "You will come back to our… house. You will stay there until the police arrive."

"Police?" Harry exclaimed.

"Someone would have called about the noise."

He turned and began walking again, Harry slowly following.

* * *

Trowa was in the kitchen when Heero led Harry inside. He was making a cup of hot chocolate and simply nodded at Harry in greeting. Heero gestured at him to sit and he did so, glad to get off his sore feet. Trowa finished the hot chocolate, adding a few small marshmallows to the cup, before placing it in front of Harry.

Harry looked surprised but offered a weak smile. "Thank you."

Trowa nodded and he and Heero stepped into the hallway, making sure that they could still see Harry in the kitchen but speaking low enough that he couldn't eavesdrop.

"Report?" Heero asked.

"His uncle was terrified when I found him. He kept muttering about freakish nephews and wizards, not making any sense. He passed out when I tried to question him about what happened." Here, Trowa paused, looking confused. "The gun used was a 12 gauge hunting shot gun. When I got there, it had been, literally, cut in half. Though I could not find what had done it."

"Cut in half?"

Trowa nodded. "It was a clean cut too. As if it had been done in one smooth blow."

"He said that he had been aiming for his owl."

Trowa frowned. "The bullet was shot straight ahead, chest level. When birds are frightened, they fly up. The only reason a bird wouldn't be flying upwards was if it were being held by someone. If this man was shooting at the bird, chances are Harry was holding it at the time."

"Meaning he shot at him. It explains why he was so frightened."

Trowa nodded, glancing into the kitchen. Harry had abandoned his drink and was trying to wipe the dirt from his bare feet.

"We should get him something for his feet. When the police arrive, we'll turn him over to them."

"This safe house has been compromised. We will have to move again."

"Duo will be ecstatic. I'll contact Lady Une," Trowa assured. "You assist him."

Heero nodded and went back into the kitchen while Trowa disappeared upstairs. Harry put his feet down, glancing nervously at Heero.

"Sorry," he muttered. Heero glanced at the small mess and ignored it. He pulled out a bowl and filled it with hot water and disinfectant. Heero placed it on the floor in front of Harry.

"Soak them."

Harry hesitated before gently placing his hurt feet into the water. It stung for a moment, but once he was used to it, the warm water felt like heaven. He sighed in relief, wiggling his toes.

"So uh…" Harry glanced up at Heero nervously, still mindful of the fact that the man had a gun tucked away in his pants. "What now?"

"When the police arrive, we will send you to them."

"Do you know where my uncle is?"

"Unconscious."

"Oh."

Harry grabbed his hot chocolate, sipping at the warm liquid. When the police came, they would probably arrest Vernon. And, if Harry told them the truth, they would charge him with attempted murder. Vernon would probably get a lawyer to get the charge dropped, but he would still have to spend a night in jail. Petunia was going to freak out.

Harry frowned. He didn't even know where his aunt and cousin were. They were supposed to be home before his uncle but had never shown up. It was probably for the best though. Harry wasn't entirely sure he would be able to handle his aunt blaming him and his freakishness for his uncle trying to shoot him. Harry sighed, suddenly not wanting anymore of his drink. He put it back on the table and covered his face with his hands.

Harry noticed that his hands were still trembling slightly. He didn't really understand why he was so freaked out; it wasn't like he hadn't been in life or death situations before. Every year since he entered the wizarding world there had been at least one attempt made on his life a year. He was no stranger to danger. In fact, every other time he had been targeted, whoever it was had been trying to kill him personally. This time, it wasn't him Vernon was trying to hurt, but his owl. It wasn't even personal.

Maybe it had to do with the fact that it was Vernon, his uncle. Harry had never thought of the man as family, but that didn't change the fact that he was. It is different; when a stranger tries to kill you, you're terrified. When a family member does it, you're betrayed. Harry never expected love or kindness from Vernon, but he never expected to be shot at either. Maybe it was more personal than he thought.

Trowa stepped into the kitchen, carrying some bandages. He stepped over to Heero, whispering quietly in his ear. Despite the soft tones, Harry still heard the conversation.

"We have three hours." Trowa informed Heero. "We're to return to headquarters before receiving a new location. A message has been sent to Quatre and Wufei, but Duo is on comm. silence. He will be informed as soon as he checks in."

Heero nodded. "Begin gathering all our belongings. I'll watch him."

"Shouldn't the police have arrived by now?"

"Hn. No one has disturbed the house."

"Odd. Perhaps they are slow tonight?"

Heero doubted it. He turned from Trowa and stood before Harry, waiting for the boy to look up. When he did, Heero felt a small twinge of guilt at the slight fear still in his eyes. He supposed he could have spoken to him before pulling his gun out earlier. Old habits die hard.

Heero knelt down and placed a towel on the floor. Harry got the picture and took his feet out the water to dry them off. Heero reached for the bandages Trowa had set on the table.

"That's okay," Harry insisted, "I can do it myself."

"You know how?" Heero asked simply, raising an eyebrow. He ripped off the packaging for a large band aid and stuck it on Harry's heel, which was the worst off. Harry didn't argue and embarrassingly let Heero take care of him. Just as he finished, Trowa entered the kitchen from the living room.

"The police have arrived." he announced.

Harry and Heero followed him to the living room and looked out the window. Harry climbed into the couch, squinting across the yard. He had expected the Ministry or Order to get here before the muggle police.

Behind his back, Trowa and Heero exchanged looks. Heero nodded and Trowa left to finish packing. Heero had more experience with police and he was not as well known as the taller teen, whom had once been in the circus. He would go, make sure Harry was properly taken care of, then come back and help Trowa before leaving.

Heero reached out and tapped the dark haired boy on the shoulder. Harry jerked around, startled out of his thoughts. He sighed and climbed from the couch, following Heero to the door.

"Are you coming with me?" he asked when Heero didn't head back inside.

"To ensure safety."

"Oh… thanks," Harry muttered awkwardly.

They made their way across the street in the dark. The officers had already entered the house. Harry could see one through the front window. He was looking around carefully and had… a wand in his hand. Harry slowed down, squinting at the man. He looked familiar to Harry…

It hit him a moment later and Harry froze in the middle of the street. He had seen the man's picture last year in school when it was announced ten Death Eaters escaped Azkaban. Atonin Dolohov had a long, twisted face. His hair was straggly and greasy and he scowled as he prowled around the house. Heero stopped when Harry did, noticing his suddenly stiff posture.

"That's not a police officer," Harry whispered.

They had to get out of the open before they were caught. Harry had to hide and find a way to contact the Order. He had to hide Heero too. The Death Eaters would kill him if they saw him with Harry.

He reached for Heero's arm, trying to tug the teen back the way they'd come. "We need to get out of the open," he said. "We need to…" Harry cut himself off as he realized something. His uncle was still in that house. What if they killed him? Harry couldn't just leave his uncle. He hated the man and had almost been killed by him tonight but that didn't mean Harry could leave him to die.

_Damn_ his hero complex.

"Potter!" Heero snapped. Harry flung his head towards a pissed off Heero. "What is going on?"

Harry let go of his arm rather quickly and stepped away. He glanced at his house and saw that Dolohov had left his sight. "Thanks for everything," he said. "You should go back inside now. I'll be fine."

Heero stared the teen down. "You just said that that man was not an officer. Who is he?"

"Heero please," Harry begged, glancing around nervously. "Just go back inside!"

Heero frowned. He would go back inside, but he was taking Harry with him. Once they were secure he would get all the information out of him he wanted.

"Fine." Heero grabbed Harry's arm and easily dragged the protesting boy after him. They had taken all of two steps before alarms went off in Heero's head. He didn't bother questioning his instincts or wasting time looking around; he grabbed Harry and flung both of them to the ground just as a red light shot over their heads.

Heero was up and running before Harry had a chance to comprehend what had happened. The older teen grabbed Harry around the waist and half dragged, half carried him back towards the safe house until he was able to get his feet back underneath him.

"Rookwood! Call the others! He's here!"

Harry panicked at the shout. They couldn't call more Death Eaters to Privet Drive! There were innocent people everywhere. If anyone came out to investigate the noise, they'd be killed!

Heero practically threw Harry into the house and slammed the door. Trowa was waiting for them, a gun in his hand and five backpacks at his feet.

"Two enemies confirmed." Heero whipped around to stare at Harry. "He shouted to call others. Will they come?"

"If they're not already here."

"Who are they?" Trowa asked.

"Bad guys." Harry glanced at the guns in both boys hands. He was too worried to be scared. "Those won't work either." Harry felt his pockets and whipped out his wand. Trowa and Heero stared at him in disbelief. Guns wouldn't work but a shiny stick would?

Trowa glanced out the window. "Seven more have appeared. They are all wearing masks and black robes. They are coming this way."

Heero turned to Harry. "Are they trying to kill you?"

Harry thought about it briefly. "Probably not. They'll just try to catch me to give to their leader so that he can kill me himself."

"Twenty feet." Trowa reported raising his gun and taking aim. Harry lifted his wand, ready to fight.

Heero processed the odds in his head. There were at least nine enemies of unknown origin and power. More were possibly on the way. Their intent was kidnapping, possible murder, of a teenage boy. The boy, too, was an enigma. All that was known was that he was abused and Duo and Quatre were fond of him.

Regardless of the lack of information, Heero's job as a Preventer was to protect. There was not enough information to safely engage the enemy. A tactical retreat would be the smartest course of action.

Heero grabbed two of the bags and swung them easily on his back. Trowa grabbed his and Quatre's belongings and tossed Wufei's into Harry's arms.

"Tactical retreat," Heero ordered. "Too many enemies to engage. Retreat to safe point and proceed to headquarters."

Trowa grabbed a confused Harry and the three ran to the back of the house. As they entered the back yard, Harry managed to pull away from Trowa.

"Wait! I have to go back! My uncle's still in the house!"

"No, too many enemies." Heero grabbed Harry and started dragging him forward again. "There's nothing you can do."

"I have to at least try!" Harry shouted, not able to get away from Heero's hold. He was pretty strong for someone so skinny.

The sound of a door being blown off its hinges made Harry flinch and the other two run faster. They dodged through the backyards of the suburbs, staying as close to the shadows as the three could manage. Harry was struggling to keep up with the fast and graceful ex-pilots who were leading the way. Never once did Heero's grip on his arm falter, which was the only reason Harry hadn't stopped and gone running back to his uncle's home.

They managed to make it to the street before the Death Eaters caught up to them. The road was empty. It was late at night so barely any traffic passed by. Across the road was a park, the largest one in Surrey, but still pretty small. It was fenced in by a brick wall and the gates letting people in were closed and locked for the night.

A Death Eater suddenly apparated directly in front of the three. Heero didn't waste time wondering how he had done it as he charged forward, knocking the man out with a single blow to the head. More started to appear before the first one even managed to hit the ground.

Harry was amazed by Heero and Trowa. They moved so fast he could barely keep up with them. It was obvious they knew how to fight and better than anyone Harry had ever met. It was almost like they were as good as the characters in fighting shows, except this was a real battle and not a staged one.

Trowa grabbed Harry by the back of the neck and forced him onto the ground. He whipped out his gun, taking three perfectly aimed shots at the Death Eaters. All his bullets hit their targets, effectively hurting them enough to not be able to fight but missing anything vital so they weren't killed. For a moment, the Death Eaters were confused at the weapons but then one shouted to the rest.

"They're muggles, you fools!" Harry recognized Lucius Malfoy's voice behind the mask. "Shield yourselves and kill them! But leave Potter alive! He is for our Lord!"

The Death Eaters did as told and pointed their wands at the three. Harry raised his own and shouted, "_Protego_!" just as the Death Eaters shot numerous dark spells at them. They hit Harry's shield so hard the boy was sent flying back into Trowa and lost control of his spell. Luckily, no one had used the killing curse.

The Death Eater that Harry was sure was Malfoy, recovered from the minor spell backlash first and shot a _Crucio_ at Harry. Trowa saw the curse coming and shoved Harry out of the way but was unable to avoid it himself. He was unprepared for the intense pain and fell to the ground, a scream escaping his lips before he could stop it. Heero tried to shoot Malfoy, but his bullet stopped before it reached its target, as if it had hit an invisible wall.

"_Reducto_!" Harry shouted, as Malfoy was momentarily distracted by Heero's bullet. The curse hit the Death Eater head on and broke the spell. It normally would have done more damage than just knocking him down but Malfoy's protection spell gave him some extra cover. Trowa felt the pain disappear instantly and took a steadying breath before shooting to his feet, ready for action once again.

The Death Eaters kept shooting spell after spell at them and the only thing keeping them from hitting the three teens was Harry's constant shield spells. But constantly putting shield charms up and having them torn down was starting to take its toll and Harry's charms were becoming weaker with each recasting. Heero and Trowa tried vainly to shoot the Death Eaters but the bullets never got past their defenses. And with the spells being shot at them, it kept them from being able to get close enough to take them out by hand. The three were slowly being forced back towards the park wall.

Just as they were forced off the road and onto the uneven grass, Heero came up with an idea. Instead of shooting at the men in black cloaks, he aimed at the ground near their feet. He shot twice at one Death Eater's boots, startling the man into stumbling back a few steps and distracting him from shooting at them. Trowa saw the strategy and immediately began doing the same thing. They managed to lessen the spells being shot at them, giving Harry a chance to fight back instead of only defending.

Harry fired two _Reductos_ in quick succession and managed to take out one Death Eater, leaving only five now. Trowa focused all his attention on distracting one Death Eater and Heero used the chance to dart forward and knock him out swiftly. A spell was thrown at him and, before Harry could block it, Heero found himself completely paralyzed on the ground. A rush of what Heero knew to be fear went through him. He was frozen and defenseless while surrounded by enemies trying to kill him.

Headlights appeared in the distance but everyone was far too busy to notice them. Trowa managed to get to Heero's side as Harry continued to shield them. Even when he tried to move Heero, his body was stiff as a board and would not bend. So he dragged him to the side, trying to get away from their enemies and allowing Harry to cover them.

Harry glanced at Heero, recognizing the Body-Bind Curse easily. He summoned the most powerful shield charm he knew and used it to cover the three for a moment before pointing his wand at Heero.

"_Finite Incantatem_!"

Instantly, Heero was free and back in a fighting position. Trowa noticed that, despite his blank face, he was royally pissed off. Trowa then also noticed the headlights from a car heading towards them quickly.

Harry flinched as his shield was broken violently. He didn't bother putting up another and waved his arm, yelling the disarming charm at the same moment Malfoy cast _Sectumsempra_ at him. The spells met in midair but Malfoy's was much more powerful and tore through Harry's spell with ease. Harry raised his wand to try and defend himself and the spell hit him and his wand full on.

Harry cried out in pain as something stabbed through his arm and his wand was shattered. He fell back, being caught by Trowa, and pulled his wand arm to his chest. The headlights of the car were now right before them and the Death Eaters turned in surprise and confusion. The car plowed right through the group, hitting one Death Eater who was too slow to get out of the way. It skidded to a stop in front of Harry, Heero, and Trowa as the door flung open.

"Get in!" Wufei shouted.

They did not waste any time with questions. Trowa lifted Harry into the backseat and climbed in himself as Heero dove into the front. Without waiting for the doors to close, Wufei floored the gas pedal and they took off in a squeal of tires. Spells and shouts followed them but none found their mark and they were able to get away.

Wufei did not let up on the gas even when the enemy was out of sight. He took random turns and backtracked, making sure no one was following them. Heero turned in his seat, shrugging his and Duo's backpacks off. Trowa was carefully holding Harry's arm which had his stick, now broken in half, stabbed through the flesh. Harry was desperately trying not to cry (and failing miserably) as Trowa inspected the wound carefully.

"Shit!" Harry cursed. His wand was cleanly broken in half inside his arm and it hurt a lot. Harry could see his phoenix feather core, half plunged into his arm and the other hanging uselessly near the wood. His wand was completely broken. There was no way that he would ever be able to get it fixed.

Trowa glanced up at him. "I need to remove this strand," he said quietly, touching part of the phoenix feather. "It may hurt."

Harry stared at him a moment before nodding slowly. He braced himself for the pain and bit his lip. Trowa began pulling the feather out and Harry closed his eyes. It felt like someone was taking a hot rope and dragging it across his bare muscle. It seemed to last forever, until the pain abruptly disappeared and Harry let out a breath in relief. He opened his eyes and was shocked when he saw his wand's core still deep inside his arm.

It was glowing. Trowa was no longer trying to remove it as they stared in confusion. The red light surrounding the core reminded Harry of Fawke's tail. It seemed to melt into his skin but Harry felt no pain. Only a strange, comfortable warmth. It reminded him of the first time he had ever held his wand. How it had felt just right in his hands.

The pieces of wood in his arm began to disappear. The half sticking out fell to the car seat and seemed to lose its glow. As the rest of the core vanished into his skin and the wound began to stitch itself close. In less than a minute the wound was completely healed, leaving not even a scar in its place. Harry held his arm up to exam it, completely amazed.

"That… cannot be good," he whispered to himself. His wand was gone, absorbed into his very skin.

* * *

**Okay, there you have it. Super long chapter to make up for the last short chapter. The fighting scene in this chapter was annoying. I didn't want them to get totally defeated but I also didn't want them to win. Let's face it, no matter how good these guys are they are fighting wizards for the first time and don't even believe in magic. Because of that I think they would be at a great disadvantage. So I needed them to struggle but to also show off their skills by not giving up and finding a way to fight back. So I think I managed it, but it was still a pain in the butt to write.**


	5. Mission Accepted

**A/N: Double update, yeah! Inspired was updated today as well.**

**Chapter Five: Mission Accepted**

Harry felt exhausted as they drove down a back road. Heero and Trowa had briefly filled Wufei in on what had happened and Wufei explained how he'd shown up. The mission he was sent on was canceled before he had even began so he had turned around to return to the safe house. He was almost there when he received the message that they were heading back to headquarters so Wufei decided to just continue on and help pack things up. When he arrived, he found the door kicked in and no trace of his friends. Muggle police were swarming the neighborhood. He had managed to guess the direction they had run in and brought the car as fast as he could.

Harry had listened to everything with his eyes closed, head resting against the window. He didn't understand what the other teen meant by mission, but Harry didn't feel like asking. He just wanted to sleep and forget all about this horrible night. He hoped his uncle was okay. As much as he hated him, Harry didn't want to see the man dead. It would devastate Petunia and Dudley.

When Wufei finished speaking, the car fell silent. Harry nearly drifted off but the sensation of being watched had him opening his eyes. He was met with twin glares from Wufei and Heero and a suspicious look from Trowa.

"Who were those people and what kind of weapons were they attacking us with?" Heero asked in a cold voice that sent shivers down Harry's spine. Harry squirmed under the scrutiny.

"They're called Death Eaters. They're a radical group that wants to um… well rid the world of people that aren't like them."

"Terrorist," Wufei supplied.

Harry thought about it and shrugged. "I guess that's one name for them. I've been fighting them since I was eleven years old." Well, maybe not them directly, but Voldemort was their leader.

"That is why you recognized the one impersonating a police officer," Heero stated.

Harry nodded. "Antonin Dolohov. I recognized him from his picture from when he broke out of prison. They had it in the newspapers."

"I have never heard of these Death Eaters," Trowa said.

Harry shrugged. "They're not very well known." _At least, not to muggles_, he added silently.

"What were the weapons they were using?" Heero repeated his earlier question.

Harry felt uncomfortable and shrugged, keeping quiet. He wasn't sure what to say. These guys had just saved his life and Harry didn't want to lie to them. But he couldn't just tell three very obvious muggles that they had faced down a group of wizards.

"You know what it was because you used the same weapons. It had to do with those sticks. How were they able to block our bullets and what was that light that hurt Trowa?" Heero asked, his voice deadly.

Harry pulled his knees to his chest, not looking the other teen in the eye. He felt really bad about the secrets. Maybe it would be okay to explain things to them, when the Ministry found him they were probably going to modify their memories anyways.

Trowa had spent a lot of time with Quatre and watched him interact with people. As a result, he could understand someone's emotions a little better than Heero. He could see the guilt on the boy's face and could tell by his posture that he was afraid. Demanding answers wasn't going to help them. Trowa gently touched Heero's arm, silently asking for control of the questioning. Heero nodded once, sharply, and fell quiet.

"That light that hit me caused me great pain," Trowa spoke up. Harry flinched and nodded. "I have a higher pain tolerance than most and even I could not stop from screaming." Of course, Trowa would have to work on that. Showing weakness was not an option. Letting his enemy hear his screams was admitting that they were getting to him and that he could be broken. "What was that light? I would rather prefer to avoid it if I ever encountered it again."

"…It's called Cruciatus," Harry told him, feeling the need to explain what had happened to the other teen. "It's pure pain. It's designed to torture the victim into insanity."

"You seem very familiar with this method."

Harry shrugged once again. "I know it pretty well."

Trowa let the cryptic statement go and thought about his next question. "One of the Death Eaters ordered for you to be captured. He said that his Lord is the one who would kill you."

Harry shot a glare at Trowa, not liking this new line of questioning. He didn't care if they had saved his life; Harry was not going to tell a bunch of muggles the story of the boy-who-lived. It was hard enough that the wizarding world knew something so personal.

Trowa seemed to get the message and paused before asking another question. Harry didn't seem to mind answering questions pertaining to them but when asked about himself, he clammed up. He could sense Heero's growing impatience next to him.

"Why don't you want to explain to us what type of weapons the Death Eaters were using?" he asked.

Harry turned away, looking out at the passing scenery. They had been driving for nearly two hours and had made it to a new city.

"Do you think we will not understand?" Trowa pressed.

Harry shook his head. "Maybe, you won't believe me."

"Try us," Wufei muttered from up front.

Harry sighed and uncurled his legs. Why not? The Ministry would make them forget later anyways.

"It was magic."

Three blank looks met his announcement.

Heero spoke first. "What is 'magic'?"

"You know, like witches and wizards and wands and pointy hats. Well, okay, we don't usually wear pointy hats. Only on formal occasions, like school graduations."

"There is no such thing as magic." Heero stated.

Harry shrugged at him. "You asked for an answer and I gave it to you. It's your choice whether or not you believe."

"It is pointless to believe in what is not real," Heero said. "Magic does not exist."

"Then how do you explain what just happened?" Harry challenged. "Those flashes of light were spells, those sticks, wands." He held his arm up. "My arm is completely healed with no trace that it was ever hurt to begin with."

Heero could not explain it; that was why he had asked. He may not understand what was happening, but he was not so gullible as to believe in magic. Just because something couldn't be explained did not mean it had a supernatural reason. It just meant that he didn't have enough information to understand the situation.

"Prove it," Wufei demanded. "If you're a wizard, do some magic."

Harry pouted slightly. "I… can't. I need a wand." He glared. "And didn't you see enough during that fight?"

Wufei snorted derisively and focused back on the road. Harry glared at him a moment but let it go. He couldn't really blame them for not believing him. Unless you were a wizard or a little kid, believing in magic was a hard thing to do.

Harry looked out the window, not recognizing where they were. The city was brightly lit but hardly anyone roamed the streets. The few people that were out were dressed sluttishly, probably going to or coming from nightclubs. Most stores were closed and locked up, the only ones still open were gas stations and convenience stores.

Harry sat up as his eyes took in the city. "Where are we?"

"None of your business," Wufei answered coldly. Harry glared at him.

Wufei pulled the car into an alleyway and followed it all the way to a dead end before parking. Harry stared in confusion as the others grabbed their belongings and climbed out of the car. Trowa gestured for Harry to follow them.

There was a single door to the right of the alley and Wufei used a key to open it. Inside the halls were well lit and narrow. There was no decoration anywhere, only steel doors and empty halls. Heero led the way to some stairs and they followed them up two floors to a lobby. The lobby was small and only contained one desk, which was unoccupied.

Heero pressed the button to summon the elevator to take them up to the eleventh floor. The ride was awkward for Harry but the other three didn't seem to notice the uncomfortable silence. The doors dinged open and they entered another empty hallway. Heero once again took the lead as he walked down the hall to the very last door. He knocked once and the door opened with a swish.

The office was huge. It had a long desk in the center with three chairs in front of it. Against the back wall was a plain silver couch. The farthest wall wasn't a wall at all, but a large glass window that overlooked the city. The window was tinted so all Harry could see from where he was standing was his reflection.

Behind the desk sat a woman with long brown hair and dark green eyes. She had paperwork spread before her but abandoned it when the door slid open. She stood up, glaring at the three ex-pilots with an angry scowl.

"Where have you been?" she demanded. "You were supposed to be here hours ago! We sent a team out looking for you and found the neighborhood crawling with police and homicide detectives!"

Harry's head shot up and his eyes widened.

"We were ambushed," Heero said. The others tossed their belongings on the floor and sat down. Wufei sat in a chair in front of the desk while Trowa opted for the more comfortable couch.

"Who is that?" Une asked, noticing Harry for the first time.

"The reason we were ambushed," Heero answered. "His name is Harry Potter." Lady Une cocked an eyebrow at the name.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Harry said. "But did you say homicide detectives?"

"Yes." She grabbed the open file on her desk. "According to the team's report, Vernon Dursley was found dead in his home. It was connected to two other murders discovered that day of Petunia Dursley and her son, Dudley."

Harry had the sudden urge to sit down and the couch and chairs seemed too far away to bother walking to. He folded his legs underneath him and plopped down on the floor in shock. Distantly, he heard Lady Une and the others begin talking, probably explaining what had happened, but Harry didn't pay any attention.

His relatives were dead. The Dursleys were dead. The last of his family had been murdered by Death Eaters. No wonder no one had come home that night; they were dead! There was no one alive to come home! Vernon probably never even knew. He died thinking his wife and son were alive and healthy and safe.

And why were they killed? Because they were related to Harry? Why was it that death seemed to follow him around? His parents, Cedric, Sirius… and now the Dursleys as well. A family of muggles that would have been left alone if not for the fact that they were related to him. They were stuck up and crude people, but they didn't deserve to die. They deserved a chance at life just like anyone else in the world. And Harry had helped take that chance away. He might not have cast the curse but he had made them targets.

A hand on his knee brought Harry out of his morbid thoughts. He wiped away the few tears that had escaped his eyes and looked up. Lady Une was smiling softly at him, her gaze understanding.

"The couch is a little more comfortable than the floor, Mr. Potter," Lady Une suggested gently. She offered him a hand and helped him to his feet.

"Sorry," he whispered.

"There's nothing to apologize for. It's hard to lose one's family." Harry just nodded and sat on the couch, curling his legs to chest. Lady Une returned to her seat behind her desk and sighed.

"Well, I must say," she glanced at Heero and the others, "Out of all of my operatives, if anyone was going to get mixed up in the magical world, it would most likely by the five of you."

"What?" Wufei asked with a frown. The other two looked at her disbelievingly.

"Mr. Potter here was telling the truth." Une sighed. "It really was magic. You can't very well doubt the word of the boy-who-lived."

Harry looked at the woman in surprise. "You're a witch?"

"Squib, actually." Une smiled bitterly. "I haven't been a part of the wizarding world since I was eleven and failed to receive a school letter."

"Pureblood?"

"Not anymore."

Harry nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry."

"Is there any way for you to get a hold of a friend?"

Harry thought about it. "I guess I'll have to go to Diagon Alley and use the floo. Hedwig took off and I usually use her to send letters."

"Hedwig's your owl?" Une guessed. Harry nodded.

"I sent her to my best friend, to be safe."

"Stop!" Wufei suddenly yelled. Everyone looked at him in surprise. "You honestly expect us to believe that all this magic stuff he told us about is _real_? And Heero and Trowa fought actual _wizards_?"

"Yes, Wufei," Lady Une confirmed in a stern voice. "It is real."

"There is no such thing as magic," Heero denied.

Lady Une pierced him with a look. "There is. The wizarding world has been hidden from our world, or what they call, the muggle world, for centuries. They are very secretive about themselves and, on the rare occasions a non-magical person discovers them, that person's memories are erased so that they don't remember anything." She suddenly turned her gaze to Harry. "And I will not allow that to happen to these boys, so I suggest you don't let the Ministry find out about them."

"Uh, I'll try…" Harry promised. He really didn't know if he could stop it; he had no power over the Ministry. Harry would have to ask Dumbledore for help on that problem. He closed his eyes, resting his head on his knees. _I wonder if Dumbledore even has the authority to do that_…

"They would erase our memories?" Trowa asked his quiet voice cold with rage. Harry turned to him in surprise. He had never heard the boy so angry before. He had never heard him have any emotion before.

"To keep their world a secret," Lady Une explained. "It will not happen this time." She sighed, running a hand through her hair absently. "You'll have to take him to London."

"_We_ will?" Wufei demanded.

"You brought him here, you take care of him," Une snapped. "Until he's back safely with whoever, Harry Potter is your responsibility." She offered a little smirk. "That's an order, gentlemen."

Heero frowned. "Where in London do you need to be?" he asked, looking at Harry. The teen didn't answer or even acknowledge the question. Heero glared. "Potter!"

Trowa leaned over and pushed his bangs from his face. "He's asleep."

Une smiled. "He's had a rough night." The ex-pilots glared at her. "I suppose I can get in contact with the wizarding world myself. It's been a long time, but I still know my way in." Une stood. "You three watch him until I return." Without another word, Lady Une gracefully left the office, the door sliding shut behind her.

* * *

_ "You let him escape?" Harry hissed his voice colder than ice. His red eyes flashed dangerously in the dark room, lit only by a dying fire._

_ Lucius Malfoy cowered at his feet. "He had help, my Lord."_

_ "Help?" Harry hissed. "So not only did you fail to capture Potter, when he had no protection, but you also lost to _muggles_?"_

_ "My Lord–"_

_ "Crucio!"_

_ Malfoy fell to the floor, his body twitching uncontrollably. Harry held the curse for an entire minute before releasing it._

_ "Such failure will not be tolerated." Harry told his Death Eaters quietly. They were shaking in terror. "Bella."_

_ The insane witch glided forward and bowed at his feet, kissing Harry's robes. "Yes, my Lord?"_

_ "Teach these fools what happens when you fail Lord Voldemort."_

_ "It would be my honor." Bellatrix grinned and turned to the cowering Death Eaters, raising her wand._

_ Harry sighed in content as their screams echoed in his ears._

* * *

Harry startled awake, placing a hand over his scar before he had even opened his eyes. He hated those damn visions but there was no way for him to stop them. He had failed spectacularly in occlumency and had no one to teach him the art properly.

Harry sighed and sat up, feeling around for his glasses. His hand met thin air and Harry opened his eyes in confusion. The room was blurry but he could tell he wasn't in his bedroom at Privet Drive. It all came back in a rush and Harry suddenly wished he had stayed asleep after his vision.

Glasses were pressed into his hand and Harry mumbled a thanks before slipping them on. He blinked in surprise at the smiling faces of Duo and Quatre.

"Good morning," Duo greeted.

"Hullo. When did you two…?"

"About half an hour ago," Quatre answered. "Wufei filled us in on everything. Lady Une has gone to the uh… wizarding world, to contact someone to help you."

"Oh," Harry blinked. "She didn't have to do that. I know a lot of squibs hate going back once they've left."

"What's a squib?" Duo asked eagerly.

"Er… it's someone born to magical parents but doesn't have any magic of their own. They're ridiculed a lot in my world and, in extreme cases, the child is disowned to prevent shame from coming to the family."

"Just because the child doesn't have magic?" Quatre asked horrified. "That's horrible!"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. But on the other hand, it's really hard to live in the wizarding world when you have no magic of your own."

"So can you do magic for us right now?" Duo asked eagerly. "Heero and Trowa described what they saw, but I wanna see some too!"

Harry looked down at his lap. "I can't. I need my wand to do it." He fingered his right arm, where the wound had been.

"Was that what absorbed into your skin?" Quatre asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know why or how. I've never heard of anything like this before." Leave it to Harry to once again do the impossible.

"I see." Quatre nodded understandingly while Duo looked disappointed.

"Do you have any tricks? Or magical items? Like in a video game?"

Harry chuckled lightly. "It's not like a video game, Duo. All my stuff was left behind at my… at my uncle's house. All I have is what I'm wearing."

"When Lady Une returns, we'll ask her if we can get some of your belongings back," Quatre assured him.

"That's okay," Harry dismissed. "The Ministry of Magic will have taken everything magical from the police. I'll just have to go to them to get my stuff."

"Cops aren't exactly thrilled about giving up evidence," Duo pointed out.

"They won't exactly have a choice," Harry countered. He glanced around the office. "Where are the others?"

"Showering and eating," Quatre told him.

"At least Trowa and Wufei are." Duo snickered. "Heero was sulking when I left him."

Somehow, Harry couldn't picture that.

"Would you like something to eat too?" Quatre offered politely. "We can't let you wander the base, but we can have something sent up."

"Sure. Breakfast, er lunch, would be nice." Quatre nodded and went to the desk to use the phone. As he did so, Harry turned to Duo. "So what is this place?"

"This is one the bases run by the Preventers," Duo explained. "It used to be a military facility."

"What are Preventers?"

"Well, we are." Duo gestured at himself at Quatre. "We're an organization that prevents wars and fights."

"Peacekeepers?"

"More or less. It was formed after the war with the colonies ended."

"I kinda remember that." Harry thought about it. "My uncle talked about it once when I came home from school."

Duo gave him a strange look. "The world was almost destroyed and you _kinda_ remember that?"

Harry shrugged. "You don't hear about the muggle world when you're in the wizarding world. The worlds are so separated that the wizards know about as much of the muggle world as the muggles know about the magical. I remember once, in third or fourth year, my friend Seamus, who's muggle-born," Harry paused at Duo's confused look, "that's someone with no magic in their family beside them. Anyway, he was bragging because he got to go to the colonies for Christmas. My friend Ron, he's a pureblood, which means he's never known anything except the magical world, wouldn't believe us that people lived in space. None of the purebloods would."

"How can you not know about the colonies?" Duo exclaimed. "They're huge! I was born and raised there!"

Harry just shrugged. "Pureblood wizards don't even know what electricity is." A sudden image of Mr. Weasley popped into Harry's head. "They don't know what a rubber ducky is either. A lot of wizards know nothing about the muggle world and, according to my friend Hermione, for every thousand people up in space, there's only one wizard."

"They must not get out much." Duo said in disbelief.

Harry smiled. "Are you kidding? Most pureblood wizards think the muggle world is full of disease and monsters. Half bloods and muggle-borns know that's not true, of course, but it makes it really easy to play jokes on them."

"Jokes?"

Harry laughed as a particular memory about Malfoy in their third year popped into his head. "In my third year of school, a muggle-born first year brought a toy car with him. My best friend's older brothers nicked it from him and enchanted it to chase people." Harry smiled widely. "Malfoy, this real arrogant prick, practically pissed himself when Fred and George made the car chase him all over the school. It was right up there with bouncing ferret incident."

"Bouncing ferret!" Duo crowed. "That sounds interesting."

Duo, Harry, and Quatre sat on the couch eating the food that had been brought to them and trading stories. Harry told them about the numerous pranks Fred and George had pulled and Duo countered with some of the jokes he'd played on the other ex-pilots, but mostly Wufei. They spent a pleasant hour eating and talking before the rest of their group came trotting back in, led by Lady Une.

"Good morning, gentlemen. Did you sleep well, Harry?"

"Yes, thank you, ma'am. Sorry for taking up your couch."

Lady Une dismissed the apology with a wave of her hand. "No worries. And here you go." She dropped a small necklace into his hand with a charm on the end of it. Harry picked it up and stared at it closely.

"Is this… my school trunk?"

"Dumbledore gave it to me," Une explained. "Along with this. You might want to read it now." She handed him a letter addressed to him in Dumbledore's neat scrawl.

Lady Une turned to the other teens in the room and gestured them into the chairs in front of her desk. Heero and Trowa remained standing, opting to let their lovers sit as Lady Une explained to them what was going to happen. While she did that, Harry was busy reading the contexts of his letter.

_ Harry,_

_ I am very relieved to hear that you are alive and safe. When we received news of the attack and could find no trace of you, we feared the worst. I am truly sorry for the death of your relatives but you must remember, Harry, it was Death Eaters who killed them, not you. Not even by association was this your fault. It was a tragedy and will always be remembered as such. Also, in case you haven't realized it yourself yet, the reason the Death Eaters found you was because they managed to track down your aunt through Lily. By killing her and your cousin, your last blood relatives, the wards protecting you fell, allowing you to be found when you performed a bit of accidental magic. Do not fear, you are in no trouble for that._

_ Lady Une has been very kind to explain to me what happened that night. We are all eternally grateful to the young men who saved you (she refused to tell me their names only that they are good people). As we spoke, Lady Une agreed to help me in this situation. The Preventers organization she is a part of not only protect the peace but also protect those whose lives are in danger. I have hired her agency's services to protect you, Mr. Potter._

Harry paused in his reading as eyes widened in shock. He re-read the sentence twice just to make sure he got it right before continuing on.

_ The wizarding world has become far too dangerous for you, Harry. Please, do not think this means that I do not believe you can care for yourself, you have proven numerous times that you can. But Voldemort is no longer the only enemy that you face. Harry, you must not let the Ministry find you! We have claimed you disappeared and that we have no idea where you are or could be. Until something can be worked out, it is not safe for you in our world, not even at Hogwarts. I am sorry, my dear boy._

_ Lady Une has assured me she will assign her absolute best men to watch over you. And fear not, Harry, this isolation is only temporary. As soon as things are better under control, we will bring you back home immediately. Until then, remain hidden, remain safe._

_ Lastly, Lady Une also gave me a brief description of what happened to your wand and arm. I have only heard of three instances of something like this and never have we been able to explain why it happens or even how. My theory is such that the wand was not able to be repaired or saved but did not want to be parted from you, its owner; so the core and part of the wood absorbed into your very skin. In the three cases this has happened, the limb in which the core was absorbed into then became the wizard's wand. In other words, your right arm is now your wand._

Harry's jaw practically fell to the floor in shock.

_ There are many benefits to this. While you are in hiding, you will able to perform the most basic of spells without detection. However, anything more advanced than a simple levitation charm or that requires constant concentration can be detected! Use as little magic as possible, just to be safe. I have sent along your trunk and belongings that you should be able to return to their normal size without a problem. Simply cast the spell the same as you would with a wand, only using your hand instead._

_ I will inform your closest friends of the predicament you now face, so do not worry about them. Forgive me for not being able to help you more. Good luck to you, Harry Potter. Remain hidden, remain safe._

_ Albus Dumbledore_

Harry stared at the letter in shock. He wasn't allowed to go back to the wizarding world? Not even for school? How was he supposed to keep up with his studies? Why was he supposed to hide from the Ministry? They had been forced to admit at the end of his last school year that they were wrong about Voldemort returning. Shouldn't they have wised up and begun defending everyone? What about his friends? Ron and Hermione were going to be worried sick about him. Hermione would probably have a hernia about him not coming to school. Hell, Harry was having a hernia about not going back to school!

"Mr. Potter," Lady Une called. Harry snapped his head up to see everyone staring at him. He felt himself flush and resisted the urge to fidget. "I assume Dumbledore explained everything in his letter?"

Harry glanced at the parchment in his hands. "More or less."

"Good. These five have agreed to the task of watching over you until such time that you can be returned to your world safely."

Harry stared at the five in shock. He barely knew any of them and now he was expected to put his life in their hands and disappear with them? Well, he already knew they were very capable fighters, so he didn't have to worry about that. But still, Harry had never thought he would have to run away. He may have wanted to escape for the summer but the thought of not going to Hogwarts come September…

Harry sighed and hung his head. "Then I guess I'll be staying with them for a very long time."

"Harry…" Lady Une began, but Harry wasn't in the mood for sympathy or pep talks. He turned his gaze to Duo and interrupted the woman before she could start.

"Wanna see a magic trick?"

"Hell yeah!"

Harry pulled the trunk off the necklace and set it on the floor. He shrugged as he looked at his hand.

"Let's see if Dumbledore was right." Harry waved his arm and intoned, "_Engorgio_." The trunk expanded before him and returned to its regular size. Duo cheered loudly as the others tried to hide their interest. Harry put his letter away and shrunk the trunk again, placing it back on the gold chain and placing the necklace around his neck.

"Well that wasn't so bad," he mused. "Maybe this could be a good thing after all."

* * *

**A/N: Yay new chapter! Not my best work, I think, but good enough. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, I'm sorry I'm bad at responding to them but I promise, I appreciate each and every last one. The next chapter is going to have a lot of Harry Wufei interaction and I'll try to update next week, it just depends on my work schedule.**

**Now for a person plug. I make a lot of bead work of old video game characters and even some anime, like Sailor Moon. My profile picture is currently Tuxedo Mask who I just finished making. As you can probably gather, I'm a working lady who lives on her own and I would like some extra cash every now and again. So please, go check out my etsy store and if you like something, buy it! I do custom orders too. The links are on my profile.  
**

**Thanks for reading! As always, please review!**


	6. Mayonnaise and Mustard

**A/N: Surprise Update Yay!**

**Chapter Six: Mayonnaise and Mustard**

"Here, Duo." Harry smiled as he placing a strong cup of coffee before Duo on the table. The teen snatched it and drank half of the hot liquid in one go. "Why are you up so early? Not even Heero's awake yet."

"Mission." Duo's voice was whiny. "I have to investigate possible terrorist activity in some rundown, piece of crap town."

"Bummer. Will it be a long one?"

"Nah, it probably won't last a day. Still not sleeping?"

"Never really been a priority. You want me to tell the others anything?"

"No." Duo stood grabbing the coffee. "They already know. Go back to bed; it's only five in morning."

"I will."

Duo rolled his eyes and playfully shoved Harry's head. "And don't lie."

"Goodbye Duo."

The teen waved once more, grabbed his coat and left. It had been a month since Harry started living with the five ex-pilots. They had been given a safe house out in practically the middle of nowhere where the nearest town was half an hours drive away. The house was built in the woods of a privately owned forest. Harry loved the place. It was built on stilts, something he had never seen before, and painted a cream color. There was a lake next to the house that was clean enough for them to swim in when the weather allowed it.

The inside of the house was a decent size as well. It was a three bedroom, two bathroom home that came fully furnished. The living room and dining room were connected to each other. The kitchen had a swinging door (which Harry secretly enjoyed as it made him feel like a chef when he brought food out) and a small windowed area where you could stand and talk to whoever wasn't in the kitchen while cooking.

The rooms had been divided up evenly between the six teens. Heero and Duo in one, Trowa and Quatre in another, and Wufei and Harry in the last. Harry found the rooming situations a little odd; he had thought for sure Quatre and Duo would be placed together. But when he had accidentally walked in on Heero and Duo "greeting" each other after a particular nasty mission, Harry understood why it had ended up like that. On the downside, he hadn't been able to meet either of their eyes for a week.

Wufei and Harry got along okay as long as they didn't talk to each other. Harry found the older teen to be abrupt and rather condescending. Harry wasn't sure what Wufei thought of him, but figured it was nothing flattering with the way he acted around him. Being roommates wasn't the ideal situation but both were determined not to complain.

Over the course of the month, Harry had become something like a maid in the house. He cooked, cleaned, and did whatever he could to make things easier for his bodyguards. At first, Harry had started helping out because he was bored and wanted to be useful to those helping him. But the more he did, the more the other boys let him. Quatre usually cooked for everyone but on the days he had a mission, the other four tended to eat whatever was lying around, if they bothered to eat at all. Harry had started cooking on those days and soon Quatre had stepped back and let Harry do all the cooking he wanted.

Cleaning was also something Harry was used to; the familiarity of the chore helped him to relax. He was so used to spending everyday busy Harry couldn't manage to sit still for too long. The five were usually very tidy, leaving little for Harry to clean. Heero had grunted once that it had something to do with not leaving a trace of their presence or something. Duo left the biggest messes, but Harry suspected Duo made them just for him to clean up so Harry wouldn't go stir crazy. It was very perceptive and sweet.

Despite living together for nearly a month the boys weren't that close, not even Harry, Quatre, and Duo. At their request, Harry had explained about his past and why Voldemort wanted him dead. He also gave a very brief overview about his school years but only said what was relevant. In return, Duo explained that all five of them used to be Gundam pilots. Harry might have spent most of the war in the wizarding world but even he knew what a Gundam was. Like Harry, they didn't offer much detail but he didn't need them to.

The former pilots still went on missions regularly but they always made sure that at least one of them was with Harry at all times. Harry had been worried he would feel like a prisoner with someone constantly watching him but the boys were respectful of his privacy. They let him wander around freely except Harry wasn't allowed to let the house out of his sight and had to tell someone where he was going before he left. Harry didn't mind the restrictions; if he ever went anywhere it was to just splash around in the lake.

A slightly sleepy Quatre entered the kitchen, freshly showered and dressed. Harry hadn't gone back to bed like Duo told him to and instead made breakfast for everyone. Since he had so much extra time he made something different for each person. Trowa was fond of the standard eggs and bacon, Quatre liked fresh pancakes, Wufei liked a Chinese dish called congee (Harry had to look that one up on the internet to find out how to make it), and Heero ate anything you put in front of him that wasn't poisoned. Harry usually fed him any new concoctions he came up with because Heero always gave his honest opinion, even if it was a little mean sometimes.

Harry placed some blueberry pancakes on the table before Quatre. Quatre raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I don't remember buying blueberries."

"I found some in the forest and washed them," Harry told him happily. "They're still in season for another month."

"Excellent. Pancakes are always better with fresh ingredients." He took a bite and nodded in approval.

"Glad you like. Speaking of fresh ingredients, we need to go shopping again."

"Already? We just went two weeks ago."

Harry shrugged. "Three meals a day for six teenage guys takes a lot of food. I made a list." Harry handed him a piece of paper and Quatre looked it over as he ate.

Trowa and Heero trooped into the room, both of them awake and alert. Harry placed eggs cooked sunny side up in front of Trowa and placed a plate of bacon in the center of the table for everyone. Harry had fried up some potatoes for Heero, mixing them with tomatoes pieces, ham, and practically drenching them in salt.

"Where's Wufei?" Harry asked once everyone was served.

"I think he's outside meditating." Quatre answered. As he finished talking, there was a ding from the other room. Quatre politely excused himself and went to check his e-mail.

"Thank you for the meal." Trowa said. Harry just smiled and dismissed the thanks.

"I enjoy cooking."

"It shows." Wufei entered the kitchen, having caught the last of what Harry had said. "You are very excessive with all our meals."

Harry stared at him. "Excessive?"

"We do not need to eat so much, you can simply make the same thing for all of us and that would be fine."

"Well sorry for wanting you to enjoy your meals. I'll be sure never to worry about if you're eating good or not again."

"I meant no offense. I'm simply saying it is wasteful. Not only in supplies but also with how long it takes to make."

"I don't happen to think it's a waste of time at all," Harry commented airily. He grabbed some mayonnaise and mustard and "accidentally" poured it into Wufei's food. Harry stirred it in and placed the bowl before Wufei on the table. "You're wasteful breakfast, sir."

"Are you two arguing again?" Quatre sighed as he came back into the kitchen.

"Not at all." Harry grinned. Wufei nearly choked on his food. Mayonnaise and mustard defiantly was not meant to be mixed with congee. "Wufei was simply commenting on being wasteful. So I know he'll eat his entire breakfast because he doesn't want to waste anything like I apparently do."

The Chinese youth glared at Harry, who just continued to smile pleasantly. Quatre sighed at them while the other two ignored it. They had gotten used to Wufei and Harry nitpicking at each other over almost everything. They had gotten as bad as Wufei and Duo, maybe even worse.

"I have to leave," Quatre said. "The Maganac Corps found something in the desert and want me to come look at it. I'm going to have to be gone for a week." Quatre sat down next to Trowa. "Do you want to come?"

Harry hid a smile at the cute tone. Trowa agreed almost too quickly to be suspicious and stood to go pack. Quatre followed him, making a mental to-do list as he went. He wouldn't have to worry too much about the others not having what they needed because Harry was there now. He would keep the house running smoothly. The only real concern Quatre had was if Duo got back before them. Heero wouldn't stop Duo and Wufei from arguing and Harry was more likely to help out Duo than put a stop to it. Poor Wufei would probably be driven to homicide.

As Trowa finished packing their things, Quatre headed back to the kitchen. Harry was cleaning up and Wufei was forcing himself to eat his food. The blonde empath shook his head; Wufei was far too proud to turn down the food after complaining about being wasteful and Harry knew it.

Quatre headed into the kitchen to talk to Harry. "I'm not sure what we're going to do about the shopping. I don't have time to go now."

Harry shrugged. "I'm sure one of us could go in your place."

"You are not going anywhere on your own. And I swore after Wufei nearly broke that street vender's hand I would never let him go shopping again."

"He did what?"

"The man was trying to rip us off," Quatre dismissed. "I suppose Heero will just have to go, whether he wants to or not."

"Somehow, I don't think he'll be able to find half the stuff I'm asking for."

"Probably not. But we have no choice. Just write everything down exactly and I'm sure he'll figure it out."

"Okay."

It wasn't that they had no faith in Heero, but the soldier-like teen wasn't very good with everyday things like grocery shopping. He tended to buy the most practical things only and never indulged. If it were up to Heero, he would probably have them living off bread and water with the occasional slice of cheese to help digestion. So Harry sat at the counter and began rewriting the list to be as exact as possible to make things easier for his friend.

Two hours later it was only Wufei and Harry in the house. Heero had (reluctantly) gone to the store and Trowa and Quatre had left, telling them to tell Duo they said goodbye the next time they talked to him. Harry was cleaning (again) and Wufei was meditating (again) in the living room. The peace around them didn't last long.

Wufei opened his eyes and shot a glare at Harry. "The living room is spotless. You do not need to clean anymore."

"The living room is only spotless because I clean it." Harry said not pausing his polishing.

"You're constant noise is distracting me."

"Fine!" He pointed at himself and said, "_Silencio_." Harry had gotten used to using his hand as his wand and which spells he could use safely.

Wufei ignored the bit of magic and returned to his calm state. Harry continued to bustle around, this time not making any noise. It lasted another five minutes before Harry stopped, frowning at Wufei. The youth opened an eye to glare at him.

"I need to clean the table you're sitting on."

"It can wait."

"Why not just go outside? It's a lot nicer, I'll bet."

"You can not be left on your own."

"I go wandering the woods on my own all the time!"

"Yes, but someone can always see you."

"Fine." Harry growled. He lifted his arm. "Be that way. _Wingardium Leviosa_." He flicked his wrist at Wufei and the teen was lifted a few inches into the air.

"POTTER!"

"Oh calm down, you're barely five inches up." Harry's voice was most definitely smug. He began wiping off the table as Wufei freaked out above him.

"Put me down this instant!"

"Hang on, almost done," Harry said cheerfully. He gave the table an extra wipe before stepping away. "_Finite_ _Incantatem_." Wufei was lowered back to the table gently. Harry laughed at his flushed face and absolutely pissed off expression.

"Think that was funny?" Wufei hissed. "Want to see what I find funny?"

Before Harry could make a run for it (not that he would get far) Wufei grabbed his arm and dragged him to their shared room. He pushed the teen inside and shut the door before going to Duo's room and grabbing some rope. And no, Wufei did not know or want to know why Duo had rope lying around. Wufei pushed Harry back into the room as the boy had stormed out and tied the rope onto the door knob, then tied the other end to Heero and Duo's doorknob. Harry tugged at the door but the rope prevented him from opening it.

"HEY!" Harry screamed, pounding on the wood. "Wufei! Let me out right now, damn it! Wufei!"

Wufei smiled and went back to meditating.

* * *

When Duo arrived back at the safe house around seven in the evening, he wasn't sure whether he should laugh or sigh. Harry was still trapped in his room and Wufei and Heero were watching the news. Apparently Heero hadn't felt the need to release Harry from his confinement because the boy had stopped shouting by the time he'd finished shopping. Wufei was content not to have the teen constantly cleaning that which did not need to be cleaned.

Duo shot them both disapproving looks and went to free Harry.

Duo knocked once and slipped into the room, letting the rope fall to the floor, scowling as he realized it was his. He would get Wufei back for using his stuff later. Harry was sitting at the window, staring at the sky blankly.

"You know, you probably could have climbed out the window," Duo pointed out. "It wouldn't be that hard."

"I did when I had to go to the bathroom."

"Why not just stay outside then?" Duo plopped down next to Harry on the floor.

"I like to clean because it's familiar," Harry mused. "I used to get locked into my room a whole lot too."

"So you like being locked in?"

"No. To be honest…" Harry shook his head. He glanced at the door to make sure no one was listening and leaned over to Duo. "It scares the hell outta me."

"Then why didn't you just climb out the window?"

"Because when you find a way around a punishment, someone comes up with a new and worse way to punish you. I'm used to being locked up in a room and can handle it. Something new, I don't know if I could."

"Wufei would have never locked you in here if he knew it scared you. He was probably thinking it made it easier to look after you if you were in one spot and not constantly moving."

"I know. I can't really explain the way I feel. I could have gotten out anytime I wanted, but I didn't." He sighed and stood up. "I'm going to go start dinner. I'd bet money that those two barely ate anything for lunch without someone to stuff it down their throats."

Duo let him leave without a word. He suddenly understood how Quatre felt; constantly having to play peacekeeper. No wonder he always took off with Trowa the first chance he got. With a shake of his head, Duo made his way to the living room. Harry was already fast at work making dinner and pointedly ignoring the other two. Duo plopped himself down on the couch next to Wufei and stared at him until he got annoyed.

"What do you want, Maxwell?" Wufei frowned at Duo's gaze; it held no trace of amusement like it normally did when Duo annoyed the other boy.

"You do remember when we first met Harry his relatives had put bars on his window?" Duo growled speaking softly enough so that Harry wouldn't hear.

"I remember."

"The only reason he didn't go nuts is because he jumped out the window. Don't lock him in anywhere again." Wufei looked sufficiently cowed as he realized his error and so Duo rounded on Heero. "And you! Next time, let him out!"

Heero didn't bother arguing and nodded his head. They had both made a mistake and would not repeat it. It was surprising though, if Duo had not brought it to their attention they would have never realized Harry had been bothered about being locked in.

"Good, now that that's settled," Duo relaxed back into the couch smiling again, "Where are Q-ball and Beast-man?"

"The Maganac found something that they wanted Quatre to see," Wufei explained. "Trowa went with him. They'll be gone for a week."

"What? That's so unfair! They get a vacation and we don't?"

"Stop whining." Heero ordered. Duo pouted at his boyfriend, which went ignored. He grabbed the remote and turned the TV up, listening to the headlines.

"…the circus has been shut down and the owners are being tried for their crimes against the animals. All the animals that were abused have been taken to various care facilities where they are being treated properly. Once they are healthy, they will all be released into protective preserves where they are most comfortable. We thank the activists who exposed these crimes and wish the animals a speedy recovery."

"Good thing Trowa didn't know about that, he would have been pissed," Duo commented idly.

"In other news, a brutal murder was reported today of a middle-aged woman living alone in London, Amelia Bones…"

From the kitchen came a crash as Harry dropped the spatula he was holding in shock. The boys sent him questioning looks but Harry was too focused on the TV to notice.

"—her assailants have yet to be found. According to the police report Bones had numerous cuts and gashes everywhere along her body. Her apartment was torn up, suggesting a struggle. Citizens are warned to be wary until the police can find the culprits of the brutal murder."

Harry glared at the TV and went back to the kitchen. His movements were much harsher than before and a scowl set on his face. Duo glanced at his friends before climbing over the couch and taking a seat at the counter.

"You okay over there, Harry?" he asked.

"Fine."

"I distinctively remember telling you not to lie."

Harry sighed and turned the stove off. "I knew Ms. Bones. When the Ministry tried to expel me for using magic during the summer, she listened to me and gave me a chance to explain myself. She was nice and fair." He frowned. "Susan will be devastated. She was pretty close to her Aunt."

"The police will find whoever did it."

Harry shook his head. "No they won't. Muggles can never catch wizards, especially not Death Eaters. It's a big part of the reason muggles don't know anything. They have no way to defend against us."

"Ever think that if we knew about you guys we could learn how to defend ourselves?" Wufei asked from his spot on the couch.

"Yeah, because that's _exactly_ what the world needs, everyone coming up with _more_ ways to kill each other."

"Says the person with the advantage on the battlefield."

"What battlefield?" Harry exclaimed. "Wizards stayed out of your war, so you don't have to worry about ours."

"We're already a part of your war because we're babysitting you!

"You could have said no!" Harry shouted. He grabbed some hot sauce and poured a third of the bottle into Wufei's almost done dinner.

Wufei stuck his chin into the air. "That would have been dishonorable."

"How'd you come to that conclusion? On second thought, forget it. I don't want to know. A look into your head would be too scary."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Enough children," Duo interrupted. "Wah, I miss Quatre already…"

"Here Duo." Harry smiled at the braided teen and handed him a plate. "Go eat. Heero, your dinner's ready too." Heero stood and grabbed his food as Harry left the kitchen. "You can get your own, it's on the stove." Harry said snidely to Wufei.

"I do not need someone to serve me." Wufei stated getting up and serving himself proudly.

"Fine with me." Harry smirked as Wufei sat down and took a bite of his mashed potatoes. The Chinese youth chewed and swallowed the food easily, not flinching at the spiciness in the least. Harry's eyes narrowed in disbelief.

Now it was Wufei who was smirking. "I grew up eating sushi covered in wasabi. Your bland hot sauce barely has any kick to me." Harry huffed and pouted, shoving his own food in his mouth angrily and determinedly ignoring Wufei's superior attitude.

Duo made a mental note to call Quatre and beg him to come back early.

* * *

Two days later Harry was wandering the woods, not wanting to be back at the house. Heero and Duo had been called away on a dual mission, leaving Harry and Wufei alone. Before leaving, Heero had hidden all sharp implements, ropes, and anything flammable. He claimed that he wanted to return to an intact safe house and did not trust the two to do that. While Harry had taken on a sheepish expression, Wufei had stormed away angrily.

After they left Harry had taken to wandering around the woods but keeping the house in sight like he was supposed to. Every so often Wufei would appear at a window and search for him before returning to whatever he was doing. Harry ignored him most of the time, entertaining himself with throwing rocks into the lake and skipping stones.

Halfway through the day Harry finally got too cold to stay outside and decided to brave the indoors. Hopefully Wufei was meditating and they could continue to ignore each other. He wasn't sure why the other boy annoyed him so much. It was rare to find anyone with such a strong sense of honor and Harry did admire Wufei for that. But Harry hated the way that he judged everyone by his standards. It was like if someone didn't live up to what Wufei thought was good enough, then no one should think that person was good enough.

Harry hated cocky attitudes like that. He didn't believe in judging other people, only himself. Let others by as good or bad as they wanted, all Harry should worry about was that he was good enough for himself. Their differences in beliefs probably didn't give them the right to argue all the time but it did keep things from getting dull.

As Harry was making his way inside, movement by the lake caught his eye. He turned and noticed some bushes rustling. Curious, Harry crept towards the bush. He moved slowly, raising his hand in case he needed to defend himself. Harry found a stick on the ground and picked it up in the hand that wasn't his wand. Carefully, he poked the stick into the bush and moved aside the leaves.

Inside was a small animal scrunched close to the ground and baring its teeth at Harry. It was one of the cutest things Harry had ever seen. The fur was as white as snow and its teeth pointy. There was a single small, black stripe on its head that started at the forehead and ended at its neck. It had a short tail that was puffed out and claws extended on its paws. Harry realized that it was a tiger cub.

"Hi there," Harry whispered. He knelt down and smiled at the little cub. "What are you doing here? There's no tigers in this part of the world."

The cub growled at him. Even its voice sounded young and nothing like the deep throated roars you heard on television. A sudden memory flashed in Harry's head of the news two days ago. A circus had been shut down for abusing animals. Was this one of the animals from there? The circus had been about a half days drive away, so it was possible for the little guy to escape and run all the way out here. It had probably been looking for water and ended up at the lake.

"Are you a runaway, little cub?" Harry tried to sound as nice as possible. Animals could sense intent so Harry made sure to think kind thoughts. "Do you want something to drink?"

Harry held his hand out, only for the cub to swipe his claws at him. The cub missed his fingers and Harry was smart enough to not reach for it again. He thought about it for a second.

"Thirsty… you're probably hungry too, right? I'll go get you some food. Don't run away, okay little guy?"

Harry slowly backed away before dashing into the house. He hurried to the kitchen and quickly looked around, searching for inspiration. Tigers were hunters, which meant they liked meat. Harry had a steak marinating in the fridge for tonight's dinner. Oh well, he could think of something else for them to eat. The teen grabbed the food from its container and ran back out to the lake.

The cub was at the water's edge, lapping up the liquid with a red tongue. Its tail was swishing back and forth and it still had its claws extended. When it heard Harry approaching, it stopped drinking and turned around, showing teeth.

"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt ya, little guy. Here." He held the steak out and tossed it in front of the animal. "Are you hungry?"

Harry scooted away and sat down. The cub watched him suspiciously before crawling forward and sniffing at the food.

"Sorry, I had it soaking in Italian dressing. It might not be what you're used to, but it should still be okay."

The cub ignored him and bit into the raw meat. Harry watched as it ripped the food apart easily. It finished the steak rather quickly and licked its jaw with a satisfied face. Harry smiled at the pleased expression.

"I guess you liked it? Sorry there's no more. I might be able to find you something in the house."

The cub made a cute yipping noise and slowly crawled forward. Harry didn't rush it and sat still, letting the animal come to him. The cub sniffed at his hands and pressed his nose against his leg. Harry smiled as it circled him, sniffing him from all angles. Its wet nose tickled his stomach and Harry laughed, startling the cub. It backed away, but slowly moved back forward when Harry didn't react further. After sniffing him, the cub carefully climbed into his lap.

Harry moved the cub to a more comfortable position and noticed it was a boy. He was also trembling slightly in his arms.

"Poor little guy," Harry said soothingly, petting the cub's single stripe on his head. "You must be scared, all alone with no momma or family around. How about we go inside and find you something else to eat?"

The cub purred quietly, still shaking. Harry stood and carried it back to the house. His fur was softer than fleece and very fluffy. There seemed to be more fur than fat. The cub let Harry carry him without a fuss and hid its claws.

Once inside Harry went straight for the kitchen. Wufei came out of his room, planning on checking on Harry, when he noticed the teen inside and carrying…

"Potter, what is that?" Wufei demanded glaring at the ball of white fluff in Harry's arms. The cub tensed at the negative emotion and bared its teeth.

"Wufei, stop it. You're scaring him."

"Scaring him? Where the hell did you get a… tiger cub?"

"He was outside by the lake." He gently put the cub on the counter and opened the fridge. "You remember that report a couple days ago about the circus that got shut down? I'll bet that's where this guy came from."

"Then we should give him to the authorities."

Harry gave him a blank look. "Where did we find him officer? Oh, in the middle of nowhere at our hidden safe house. Who are we? Oh no one important, just five ex-Gundam pilots and a wizard in hiding. Don't mind us. Really."

Wufei glared at the sarcasm but acknowledged the point. He looked at the cub, who was still baring his teeth at him.

"What are you planning on doing with it?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm trying to find something to feed him. I already gave him our steak, what else do you think a tiger would eat?"

"Wasn't the steak our dinner?"

"Oh! Chicken!" Harry exclaimed pulling out the frozen food. "You think he'll eat it if I defrost it?"

"I think you should make sure that's healthy for him first." Wufei sighed in defeat. "I'll look it up. You defrost it, just in case."

"Thanks." Harry unwrapped the chicken and put it in the microwave as Wufei went to get his laptop. Harry turned to the cub and petted his head. "You're so soft. Not even Hedwig's feathers feel like this."

The cub licked his hands and Harry laughed. "Still thirsty? Okay, let's get you some water."

Harry found a bowl and set the cub on the floor. The little guy barely waited to be put down before he was lapping at the water. Harry laughed as his tail flicked back and forth, hitting him on the leg.

A few minutes later Wufei reentered the room. He watched as Harry played with the cub's tail while it drank. Wufei found Harry's smile to be rather refreshing compared to the scowl he usually wore around the Chinese teen.

"I found an article." Harry looked up at him curiously. "They can eat chicken without a problem."

"Good." He turned back to the cub. "Here that? You're going to get some chicken next." The cub yipped, nipping at Harry's fingers playfully. "Oh, you're so cute. What should I name you?"

"Do not name it."

"And why not?"

"Because you're not keeping it." Wufei frowned. "And naming it will just get you attached."

"Well what are we going to do with him? I think we already determined we can't give him to the police."

Wufei thought for a moment before answering. "Trowa once worked for a circus. He will know a good place to send it."

Harry sighed sadly as the microwave beeped. "Okay," he agreed. He grabbed the chicken and smiled as the cub practically climbed his leg trying to get at the food. Harry tossed it in the air and watched the cub jump and catch it in his mouth before devouring it.

"But until then I'm naming him Snowball."

* * *

**A/N: The title of this chapter Mayonnaise and Mustard, had a special little meaning. You know that mayonnaise and mustard just mixed together is like not good, right? But if you have a ham sandwich and put them both on there then they become yummy. So I guess Harry and Wufei were the mayonnaise and mustard that didn't go well together until the Snowball a.k.a. the ham, appeared and brought them together. Yeah, I know… kinda dumb but I thought it was cute.**

**The next chapter will begin to please the Wufei/Harry shippers as they're relationship starts to build in it.**


	7. Accidental Death

**A/N: There was something I wanted to say but I forgot. I'm going to annoyed when I remember what it was a couple hours after updating. Lol**

**Chapter Seven: Accidental Death**

Snowball seemed to be the tension breaker Harry and Wufei needed. The tiger cub was a full time responsibility as he got into _everything_. The first night of having the little animal had gone well enough; Snowball had gone straight to sleep after eating and didn't wake up again until morning. Harry played with him constantly, laughing at all his crazy antics. Everything was going well until Harry put up the toys and went to make breakfast.

Any meat they had went to Snowball. Harry and Wufei had been reduced to a diet of vegetables. While Harry was cooking breakfast, Snowball had no one to play with. Wufei wasn't one to sit on the floor and throw around socks rolled into a ball. So with no one to entertain him, Snowball found ways to entertain himself. Destructive ways.

Wufei was not looking forward to when Heero came back. Somehow Snowball had managed to get into Heero's and Duo's room and tore the bed apart; the sheets were shredded and pillows ripped open. Wufei had found Snowball sitting in the middle of the bed with half a pillow in his mouth and covered in feathers. He had stared at Wufei before shaking the pillow again, sending more feathers into the air.

Wufei had blamed the whole ordeal on Harry.

After the room incident, they made sure to keep all the doors closed. The second night of having Snowball was nowhere near as good as the first. Harry and Wufei fell asleep easily enough but Snowball was having none of that. Since he was locked in the same room as the boys, he decided to snoop through their things. Luckily for Harry all his belongings were locked away in his trunk. Wufei, however, was not so fortunate. Snowball had eaten through two of his shirts before the noise woke Wufei and he stopped the terror of a creature.

With all the damages accrued, Wufei and Harry had no choice but to go buy new things. Wufei doubted Duo would notice the sheets and pillows being changed but he was positive Heero would. He made a mental note to make Harry explain things to them when they got back. They would also need to buy more meat products because Snowball had eaten through everything. The little creature seemed to only behave when he was full.

It was a rather frustrating choice for Wufei. He needed to go shopping but there was no way he would leave Harry alone and there was too long to wait for the others to get back. If it were only the bedding and shirts to worry about, Wufei would just wait but the food needed to be replenished. So Wufei made the decision to take Harry with him. He would have the boy wear a hat and scarf to hide his face. The weather had turned cold enough that the scarf wouldn't be questioned.

Harry grabbed a hat and shoved it on his head, making sure his bangs hung out enough to cover his scar. He looked back towards his room where he could hear Snowball scratching and whining at the door.

"I feel bad, locking him in like that." Harry said.

"He'll be fine. You gave him food and water and all his toys. We won't be gone for long."

"Alright." Harry tied a scarf around his neck and pulled some gloves on. Wufei adjusted the scarf to hide his face a little better before pulling his own gloves and hat on. The two left the house, Harry glancing sadly back at his bedroom door.

The market was fairly busy when they arrived. Wufei used up most of his patience finding a parking spot. He didn't have Trowa's talent of simply finding one right away. The store was crammed with people pushing and shoving as they maneuvered shopping carts and tried to get the best pick of everything. Wufei kept a constant hold on his charge's elbow to make sure they didn't get separated in the crowds.

"We should get our stuff first," Harry decided. "And the meat stuff last."

"Fine."

Harry glanced at Wufei and noticed his eyes in constant motion. His hand rested on his hip, a seemingly casual stance, but Harry knew better; he had a gun concealed under his clothes. Harry led the way forward, snatching a shopping cart as he went. It still made him a little uncomfortable, walking around with someone carrying a gun.

"When are the others supposed to get back?" Harry asked. He was trying to decide between buying in bulk or just for him and Wufei.

"Quatre called last night. He and Trowa should be back by tomorrow."

"Okay." He went for bulk. "What about Duo and Heero?"

"Lady Une sent a message saying they would be gone for another week. Something went wrong on the mission."

Harry stopped mid-reach for the bread. "Are they alright?"

"Unknown."

Harry gawked at him. "When did you find this out?!"

"Two days ago, when you first found that retched creature."

"And you didn't think to tell me? They're my friends too!"

"Heero and Duo are a formidable pair." Wufei frowned at him. "They are strong apart, but nearly unstoppable together. You don't need to worry."

"You may not _need_ to worry but you should." He grabbed the bread and threw it into the cart.

Wufei stared after him curiously but for once didn't continue the argument. He supposed in a way, Harry was right. When you stopped worrying about your friends, you stopped caring for them too. Despite his words to Harry, Wufei could feel a small, nagging bit of anxiety. He simply ignored it though. Wufei had fought with his friends enough to know they were fine. If they truly needed help, Wufei would drop everything and be there for them.

With a sigh, the teen followed after Harry. The younger boy may have grown up in a war, even been expected to fight in it, but Harry wasn't like them. He had never killed. His hands were blood free, even if his conscience wasn't. Blood would never wash away but a conscience would fade to the background with time. Despite what Harry might think, he was still innocent. What the Gundam boys could have once been. As he followed Harry through the aisles, Wufei was suddenly hit with a strong desire to keep Harry that way.

"Stop pouting," Wufei ordered. Harry's pout turned into a glare. Wufei rolled his dark eyes. "Are you done yet?"

"Nope, not even close." Harry smiled smugly. Actually, he could probably finish up pretty quick, but dragging things out to annoy Wufei seemed like fun. He had never felt so close to Duo.

They made it to the pet aisle and Harry abruptly turned down it. Wufei glared after him but had no choice but to follow. Harry stopped in front of a section of squeaky toys and looked at them all.

"Let's get one for Snowball."

"I am not wasting money on a toy for that annoying ball of fluff."

Harry glanced at him. "It's basic pet math. Chew toys give them something to chew on other than shoes and shirts."

Wufei stiffened at the mention of his shirts. He nodded once, sharply. "Fine."

Harry grinned and picked up two toys, giving one a good squeeze. "Squeaky or non-squeaky?"

"No noise!"

Harry laughed and tossed a stuffed bear into the basket. "I'm sure Snowball will love it. Let's go get the meat for him and then we'll be done."

"Fine."

"You have such an extensive vocabulary today."

Wufei ignored him.

* * *

"You know, after the last couple of days, we probably should have expected this," Harry commented idly.

"He ripped the door off its hinges!"

"I guess Snowball really doesn't like being locked in. I can relate."

The house was a complete wreck. The couch pillows had been ripped to shreds, the kitchen table chairs were knocked over and one had a leg half chewed through. The refrigerator had been ransacked and Quatre's plants had been ripped up and eaten. The only good thing was that Snowball hadn't touched the other rooms.

"We should have bought more pillows," Harry commented, walking into the living room and setting down the groceries. Wufei shut the front door and followed him. "Snowball!"

The little white ball of fluff came running into the living room at Harry's call. In his mouth was the pillow from Harry's bed. He bent down and picked him up, taking the pillow from his mouth.

"What's with you and pillows? Oh man this place is a mess, Snowball. If you keep this up I won't be able to keep you!"

Wufei stopped in the middle of picking stuff up. "You're not keeping it. I said it could stay until Trowa got back and found it somewhere nice."

"I—I know."

"Seriously Potter, you're not keeping it!" Wufei snapped. "Now put it down and start helping to clean up."

By the end of the day most of the house was decent again. Harry planned on sewing all the pillows back together in the morning. He was currently making dinner for himself and Wufei and watching Snowball gulp down the raw steak he'd given him. The little cub couldn't be happier as he ate.

Harry turned back to his cooking and hummed happily as he added some spices to the vegetable stir fry. He turned the heat down as it was almost done. Behind him, Snowball yipped loudly and pushed his water bowl forward. Harry smiled and reached down for it but froze mid-grab. His eyes widened and jaw dropped.

"Wufei!" Harry shouted. "Wufei, come here! Quick!"

The teen appeared in the kitchen door, annoyed at being interrupted. One of the kitchen chairs had been unsalvageable so Wufei had lit the fireplace in the living room and was currently burning it. "What?"

"Look!" Harry exclaimed excitedly, pointing at Snowball's tail. "His tail's glowing!"

They looked at the appendage and saw it really was glowing. It was an orange color like that of a flame. Snowball stared at them curiously, nudging his water bowl again and wondering why no one was giving him water.

"This explains why he was able to break our bedroom door!"

"He glowed it up?"

"No! He's magical! Snowball's a magical creature!"

"You must be joking."

Snowball picked his bowl up in his mouth and nudged it into Harry's hand, whining loudly. Harry absently took the bowl as he continued to argue with Wufei.

"No!" he was smiling widely. "Snowball's magical! There's no other reason for his tail to be glowing like that."

"The odds of you finding the only magical creature within a hundred miles of here–"

"Are about the same as you meeting a wizard and becoming his bodyguard." Snowball seemed to realize the two were too busy fighting to give him something to drink and left the kitchen, his glowing little tail between his legs.

Wufei was frowning at Harry, having to concede the point. "That doesn't mean you get to keep it."

"Actually, it does. You can't send a magical creature to muggles. They wouldn't understand him and would probably want to do tests to him or something."

"Then we'll send him to a magical preserve or something. Wizards have those, right?"

"Yeah, but do _you_ know any? Because I don't, and I'm the wizard."

"Surely you can find somewhere."

"Maybe. My best friend's older brother, Charlie, works with dragons in Romania. I'm sure he would know a place."

"Dragons?"

"But to ask, I would have to contact him. And then if he knew a place, we'd have to meet somewhere to give him Snowball." Harry was so smug because he _knew_ there was no way they would let him contact his friends when Harry was supposed to be in hiding, let alone set up a meeting with them.

Realizing he still had Snowball's water bowl, Harry filled it up and walked past Wufei into the living room. Harry spotted the cub sniffing at the fire and wagging his tail happily.

"No! Snowball get away from there before you get burned," Harry scolded hurrying forward. Before he managed to get two steps, Snowball took a leaping position, shook his cute little butt in the air, and leapt straight into the fire.

"SNOWBALL!" He dropped the bowl and made a mad dash for the fire.

"Potter!"

Harry dodged around the furniture and jumped towards the fire, his hand outstretched to grab his new pet. Before he could stick his hand into the flames, Wufei's arms were around his waist, pulling him back from the fire and keeping him from trying to jump back in.

"What the hell are you doing?" Wufei shouted.

Harry gave him the most devastated look. "Snowball jumped into the fire!"

"What?"

"He just… jumped in." Harry gestured at the fireplace.

Wufei let the boy go and grabbed a poker, sticking it into the flames. "There's nothing in here."

Harry bit his lip sadly. "Poor Snowball… he was just a baby. He probably didn't know any better."

"Look—it—he…" Wufei sighed. He was not good at comforting anyone and had no idea what to say to someone who's pet had just committed suicide. "Why not just go to bed? I'll clean up the kitchen."

Harry sniffed and stared sadly at the fire. "I can't. Snowball ate my pillow and ripped up my bed, remember? He was too little to know any better."

"Then just use mine for now. Go… remember all the good times you had with Snowball."

Harry stared up at the teen sadly. "That's the first time you used his name."

Harry sighed and headed towards his room. First Hedwig almost got killed and Harry had to send her away and now his new pet had accidentally killed himself. And he had been so cute and fun. Harry was sure that, with a little house training, he could have convinced the other guys to let him keep him. Now Harry would never get the chance.

Poor Snowball.

* * *

Wufei sighed as he finished fixing a vase Snowball had broken the day before. He couldn't save the plant but he figured they could just get Quatre a new one. Harry was holed up in their room, sewing all the pillows back together and trying not to be sad about Snowball's untimely death. He had spent the night in Wufei's bed, leaving the other to take the couch. Wufei had a crick in his neck because of it but refused to complain.

Wufei glanced at the fireplace which held only ash and a few simmering pieces of coal. He couldn't understand it. He knew the cub had jumped into the fire but where was the body? Wufei had woken up that morning, planning on emptying out the fireplace so Harry wouldn't see the bones of the cub, except there hadn't been any to clean. There had been no trace that the cub jumped into the fireplace at all. If Harry wasn't walking around so depressed, Wufei would have thought he was making it up.

Standing, Wufei returned the vase to its spot on the fireplace mantel. Just as he finished, there was a knock on the door. Wufei glanced over his shoulder but made no move to answer it. There was a second knock, followed by three sharp ones. Wufei nodded and went to open the door for Quatre and Trowa.

"Hello Wufei." Quatre smiled happily. Wufei nodded in greeting and took one of his friend's bags. "How are things—what happened to the house?"

"It looked worse yesterday."

"What happened? Is everyone alright? Where's Harry?"

"Right here." Harry entered the living room, carrying the couch pillows. "Welcome back."

"Hello Harry. Where are Duo and Heero?"

"Joint mission," Wufei answered. "Did you get them fixed up?" He walked over to Harry and took some pillows.

"Yeah, but I couldn't salvage the chair cushions."

"That's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Excuse me!" Quatre interrupted loudly. "But what happened?"

Harry got a sad look on his as he spoke. "I had a pet."

"What? Do you mean your owl?"

"No. He was a tiger cub named Snowball." Harry tossed the last pillow on the couch. "I'll have lunch ready soon. I made your favorites." He headed into the kitchen, not saying anything else.

Quatre turned to Wufei, an eyebrow raised questioningly. "You got him a pet tiger?"

"I did no such thing. He found it in the woods. It had run away from some circus that had been shut down for abusing its animals."

Trowa's face darkened slightly at the announcement but he didn't interrupt.

"We had it for a few days in which it ate all our food and destroyed the house before jumping into the fire and dying."

"…What?"

As Harry finished cooking lunch, Wufei explained what had happened with Snowball in full detail. Quatre immediately headed to the kitchen to comfort Harry while Trowa glanced at the fireplace.

"You took care of the remains?" he asked quietly.

"There weren't any." Trowa raised an eyebrow at him. "Before it… killed itself, its tail was glowing. Harry assumed that meant it was magical. I'm assuming that's why there are no remains."

"Understandable. Perhaps when the grief has worn off, we can ask Harry. For now, it would be wise to simply let the matter go."

Wufei grunted in agreement.

"Do you know what Duo and Heero's assignment is?"

"Une contacted me and gave some details. Another terrorist organization managed to get hold of mobile suit parts and are trying to build dolls."

The tall teen tilted his head slightly in surprise.

"Apparently 01 and 02 were having some difficulties. Une wanted to know our status incase they needed backup. That was two days ago and I haven't heard anything yet."

"No news is good news. If they needed help, they would have contacted us by now."

"I agree, but don't tell Potter. I made the mistake of mentioning it to him and he panicked."

Trowa's mouth twitched slightly. It seemed a few days alone had helped Wufei's and Harry's relationship greatly.

"Lunch is ready, guys," Harry called. He was placing dishes on the table and seemed happier. Quatre really had a way with words.

The four boys sat together at the table and helped themselves. Once everyone was eating, Harry glanced at his newly returned friends.

"So did you two have fun?" he asked.

"It was relaxing," Quatre said. "But we didn't get much rest."

"What were you doing?"

"The Maganac Corps found something in the deserts where my childhood home is. They wanted my permission to dig it up. We stayed long enough to help things get running smoothly before coming back."

"Cool. What'd they find?"

"Old mobile suit parts. Pieces and designs from some of the very first models ever made."

"Mobile suits… those are those huge robot-like things the military use, aren't they? I remember seeing them on TV when I was younger."

The three ex-pilots stared at him blankly for a moment. The wizarding world was _very_ secluded.

"Yes," Quatre said. "And we seemed to have found an old producing factory for them. We'll unearth it and probably donate some parts to a museum and recycle the rest."

"Sounds cool. Are you going back?"

"Not anytime soon. We have too many responsibilities here."

By responsibilities he meant watching after Harry, but Harry decided to ignore that. He simply nodded and looked around. His eyes landed on a calendar hanging on the wall.

"I'm supposed to be in school right now," he said. "I wonder how Hermione and Ron are doing? Ron must be going insane with Hermione only having him to boss around now." He suddenly grinned widely at a thought. "Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll hook up."

"They flirt a lot?" Quatre asked.

"No, not at all." Harry laughed. "They just bicker like an old married couple. Everyone knows they'll end up together, they're just too stubborn to admit it."

"Ah, sounds like how Heero used to be before Duo managed to convince Heero he was in love with him."

"Convinced him?"

"Oh yes. It took quite a while for Duo to win him over and it was very… um, interesting to watch."

"More like destructive." Wufei snorted. "We have never had to switch safe houses so often in such a short amount of time."

Harry laughed. From what he knew about Heero, he had no trouble believing the older boy would damage something while trying to get Duo to leave him alone.

They finished eating in silence and Harry got up to take care of the dishes. Quatre disappeared into his room to finish some work while Wufei and Trowa decided to watch the news. Harry didn't feel much like listening to something depressing (as everything on the news was) and went to his room. He was still using Wufei's bed and probably would be for awhile. It was one thing to replace sheets and pillows; it was a lot harder to replace a mattress.

Harry went to his trunk and pulled out the Standard Book of Spells, Year Five. He felt bad about not being in school and had started skimming over his old text books. All he could really do was memorize spells. Harry couldn't practice them for risk of being noticed. He was able to make certain potions though, so long as they didn't require a spell to activate them or need to be preserved. He had made a few simple healing potions and a couple of prank potions for Duo before running out of ingredients.

Harry almost wished for homework right about now. When he got back to the wizarding world, whenever that may be, he was going to be far behind the rest of his year mates. Malfoy probably wouldn't let him hear the end of it. Hermione would help him get caught up, though, so he hoped things wouldn't be too bad.

Harry sighed and leaned his head back against the wall, letting his eyes fall shut. He suddenly felt tired and didn't feel like reading anymore. Without bothering to change, Harry curled up on the bed and fell sound asleep.

_ Harry paced before his loyal followers angrily. It had been two months and still there was no sign of that Potter brat. Dumbledore had done a good job hiding him this time, Harry would admit that. Not even the Ministry could track the precious boy-who-lived down. That fat fool of a Minister was under a lot of pressure to find their "Chosen One" too. He had his followers scouring the wizarding world for the boy and still nothing._

_ "Any news, Lucius?" Harry hissed as the blonde man stepped forward, bowed at the waist._

_ "None, my lord." Despite the careful control, Harry could sense an underlining of fear. As he should._

_ "_Crucio_."_

_ Malfoy fell to the floor, a scream escaping his lips. Harry held the curse for a few moments before lifting it and allowing Malfoy to compose himself._

_ "What of your son in Hogwarts?"_

_ "Nothing, my Lord," Lucius answered quickly. "Not even Potter's friends know where he is."_

_ "Hmm…" Harry sat down in a throne like chair. "Dumbledore has done well, this time. Severus."_

_ Another Death Eater stepped forward and bowed next to Malfoy. "And you are positive he is not being held in the headquarters for those damn birds?"_

_ "I am certain, my Lord. I have searched the place myself and can find no trace of him. Not even Dumbledore knows where he is hidden."_

_ "What?" Harry hissed._

_ "He spoke freely with me this past night. Apparently, Dumbledore hired someone to protect Potter and they disappeared with the boy. Not even Dumbledore was told where they would be."_

_ "Who was hired?"_

_ "He made the arrangements through a third party. He does not even know who is protecting the boy."_

_ "Reckless," Harry said. "But it is no matter. Potter will make a mistake soon enough. No wizard can go long without using magic, especially not that boy. He will reveal himself to us all in good time."_

_ "Potter does have a hero complex."_

_ Harry chuckled. "Yes, so he does. Lucius." The blonde stood. "Bring Nagani her dinner. And bring her something live. I feel like playing before she eats."_

_ "Right away, my Lord." Lucius swooped from the room and was back a minute later with two more Death Eaters. Between them they carried a barely conscious woman. Her face was cut and she had no strength to stand on her own. The Death Eaters dropped her before their lord before leaving with a bow._

_ "Ah, wonderful." Harry smiled cruelly and called for his snake. "Shall I soften her up for you, Nagani?"_

_ The woman knew she was in trouble when she looked up into cold, red eyes. She began shaking her head, tears streaming down her cheeks._

_ "No, no, please," she whispered. "My baby…" Hands flew protectively over her stomach. "Please…"_

_ Harry just smiled. "I love it when they beg. It makes killing them so much more rewarding." Harry raised his wand and the woman screamed._

Harry was whimpering in pain as he slowly woke from his nightmare. He felt something holding his arm and panicked, lashing out to free himself. Something caught his other arm and pinned them to the side and Harry began kicking harshly, wanting to be free.

"Potter! Harry!"

Harry opened his eyes open at his name and stopped struggling. Wufei was practically pinning him to the bed with his body as he stood over him. Harry calmed down but couldn't get his body to relax.

"Are you going to stop trying to attack me if I let go?"

Shakily, Harry nodded yes and Wufei slowly released him. He climbed off of Harry but sat on the edge of the bed. Harry took a couple deep breaths. It was dark out now. The moon had already risen in the sky and the stars shone brightly. Wufei, Harry noticed, was only wearing a slim pair of pants. His shirt was tossed over Harry's ruined bed absently. Harry figured he must have come in to change into his sleep wear.

"Are you alright?" Wufei asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

"I'm fine." Wufei scowled at him. "It was just… just a nightmare."

Wufei nodded in understanding; they all had nightmares. He noticed something shining on Harry's cheeks and reached up to wipe the tears away. Harry started in surprise and Wufei, when he realized what he'd done, blushed slightly and stood.

"Go back to sleep," he said. Harry nodded once more and settled himself back into a comfortable position.

"Sorry for taking your bed."

"It's fine."

Harry was asleep again before Wufei left the room. However, not even two hours later, Harry awoke from another nightmare. He couldn't remember this one and the absence of pain in his scar confirmed it was a normal dream for once. Harry tried to fall back asleep but the room he was in was too unfamiliar. After all his nightmares, Harry would listen to his roommates as he fell asleep again. Neville's snoring, Ron's unintelligible grunts, Dean tossing in his sleep, Seamus' deep breathing; all those things had been a comfort to him. But this room and house were completely silent. None of the ex-pilots made a sound as they slept.

Harry sat up and crawled from the bed, dragging a single blanket with him. He slowly entered the living room and noticed Wufei sleeping on the couch. Harry watched him sleep for a moment and slowly felt the lingering fear from his nightmare fade away. He smiled slightly to himself and quietly tip-toed over. Harry settled himself on the floor and covered up with the blanket. When he was this close, he could hear Wufei's steady breathing. Having someone next to him gave Harry a lot of comfort.

He rested his head on the couch cushion and let himself fall asleep. Not even a moment later, Wufei slipped an eye open and stared at Harry in confusion. He decided not to ask and let the boy stay where he was. Wufei allowed his eye to slide closed again and fell back asleep.

* * *

**A/N: Well this chapter gave you a glimpse of what was happening in the wizarding world while Harry's with the guys. Wufei and Harry are finally getting along. They still argue but it now it's more playful than actually being angry with each other. The next chapter is sad but also happy because Harry and Wufei are starting to get their act together. Yay them.**


	8. The Truth Inside Your Head

**Guys, Snowball is a plot device. He's a tool. A very cute tool, but still just a tool.**

**Also, because some people have asked, I mentioned this in chapter one, but this story is a re-post. I had it posted on the site a couple years ago. Basically until we get to chapter sixteen it's all been posted before. I've just heavily edited it. The plot is still the same, there's just better grammar and stuff now.**

**Chapter Eight: The Truth Inside Your Head**

An entire week went by peacefully. Harry only had nightmares a couple of nights and whenever he did, he had started sleeping near Wufei in the living room. Harry was positive the older teen knew about this but never commented. Harry was growing a new respect for the teen. He was starting to see past his pushy and often superior attitude, to the respectable, honor driven person Wufei truly was. Quatre was especially pleased with the two getting along more because it meant he didn't have to play peacemaker as often.

Harry hadn't told the others about his Voldemort-dreams. They didn't even know about the connection. Deep inside, he was afraid they would look at him different if they knew. Even if they still called him a friend, things would be different; especially with Heero. Harry knew the others wouldn't blame him for any slips of information but they would also stop trusting him with it. Whether or not Harry meant for the information to be leaked wasn't the issue; the issue was that it could be leaked, despite his best efforts to stop it. So he kept his mouth shut. If Voldemort ever managed to get anything from his head, Harry would tell them the truth but until that happened, it was his secret.

At the end of the week, their dull routine was broken. Harry finished washing the dishes and studied some before going to sleep. Almost as soon as his eyes were closed Harry was thrust into another terrifying vision. This one was different from the others. This time, Harry wasn't Voldemort but was more like his shadow. Harry had no choice but to follow the Dark Lord wherever he went and watch what was going on.

_ The Death Eaters were all lined up and silent. The anticipation in the air was so thick Harry could taste it. Harry stood next to Voldemort as the snake-like man surveyed his followers before turning to the empty street before them. Harry recognized the entrance to the Ministry of Magic and gasped loudly. Voldemort was set up to attack the Ministry!_

_ "No…" Harry whispered, horrified. He had to do something. He had to warn someone. But there was nothing he could do. Harry didn't know how to wake himself up and even if he could, there was no way to contact Dumbledore. He was completely helpless._

_ "Lucius," Voldemort hissed. The man slid forward with a bow. "Is everything prepared?"_

_ "Yes, Lord," Lucius confirmed. "There are few __Aurors__ present at this hour and that fool of a Minister is still in his office, practically unguarded."_

_ "Excellent. Are the wards in place?"_

_ "Yes sir. No one will be able to apparate in or out until you wish it."_

_ "Then split up and move out. Leave no one alive."_

_ The Death Eaters slipped into the night, their black robes cloaking them from sight. Harry tried to run after them, to stop them, but he couldn't move. He was stuck next to Voldemort who was watching his followers disappear into the building._

_ "Enjoying the show, Harry?"_

_ Harry's head snapped to the side. Voldemort was speaking to him, but his eyes were still faced forward._

_ "Oh yes, you are here by my will," the evil man hissed. "I have not forgotten about our link. You can hide all you want Harry, but I will always find you."_

_ Harry could do nothing as he watched the slaughter of the Ministry. There were few people there so late at night but those who were there were tortured mercilessly and killed without hesitation. Cornelius Fudge was killed by Voldemort himself. The Death Eaters hung his body outside the walls of the Ministry before sending the dark mark high into the sky._

_ All Harry could do was watch. Tears stained his cheeks and he tried desperately to wake himself up. Voldemort would laugh when he did; taunting Harry that he couldn't defeat him, the greatest Dark Lord of all time. He forced Harry to stay and watch everything, only releasing the boy from the all-too real nightmare when they were leaving. Voldemort leaned over to the shell-shocked teen before letting him go._

_ "This world is mine," he whispered, almost seductively, "And so is everything in it."_

Harry woke up screaming.

* * *

Wufei was on his feet with a gun in his hand before he had even realized he was awake. Once he had, the reason for his abrupt awakening was made clear. Harry's pain filled voice echoed in the once silent house. Wufei dashed to the hallway and lifted his gun, almost pulling the trigger on pure instinct. He managed to control himself at the last moment, noticing that he was aiming at Trowa and Quatre. They too, had their weapons raised and managed not to shoot at Wufei as he appeared around the corner.

The three didn't waste time speaking and flung open the door to Harry's room. Harry had stopped screaming and was lying on the bed, panting hard. His hands covered his face but small amounts of blood seeped through his closed fingers. Quatre was at his side in an instant while Wufei and Trowa looked for enemies or possible signs of forced entry.

Quatre had barely managed to pull Harry's hands away from his face before the boy was stumbling to his feet. Quatre caught him before he fell but Harry still tried to walk.

"Bathroom," he begged, his voice coarse.

Quatre half-carried Harry to the bathroom. As soon as his face was over the toilet, Harry threw up. He didn't stop until his stomach was empty and he was dry heaving. Tears were still falling from his eyes and his scar was bleeding. Harry forced his body to gasp in breaths.

Images of the murders and tortures he had just seen flashed through his head. He could see the innocent Ministry worker's faces behind his closed eyes; their screams echoing so loudly in his head it hurt. Harry hadn't recognized a lot of the people but there was one woman he did know. She was a new member in the Order of the Phoenix that Harry had only met once before. Her name was Amy Shacklebolt; she was Kingsley Shacklebolt's younger cousin. If Harry remembered right, she had just joined the Aurors two years ago and had joined the Order when Kingsley invited her.

There was a cold sensation on his forehead and Harry jerked away so fast he hit his head on the wall. He hissed and rubbed the sore spot.

"Calm down," a voice soothed. "I'm just wiping off your forehead."

Harry forced his eyes open, grateful that it was dark and no one had turned on the bathroom light. Quatre was standing over him worriedly, holding a wet washcloth in his hand. Harry didn't say anything, afraid that he would throw up again if he opened his mouth. Seeing that Harry recognized him now, Quatre knelt down and began wiping away the blood.

Harry loved the cold feeling and closed his eyes, allowing himself to be taken care of without a fuss. He felt so weak and horrible right now.

"Harry?" Quatre's voice broke through his thoughts. "How did this happen?"

Harry just shook his head. He couldn't talk about it. Not now. Please.

"Harry, we need to know how this happened," Quatre pressed sensing his fear. "We need to know if someone was here." Oh God, Quatre hoped not. The thought that someone had found their safe house and gotten close enough to hurt their charge scared the hell out of him. They were former Gundam pilots. They were supposed to be the best. Allowing their charge to be harmed was not acceptable.

Harry shook his head again, denying that anyone had been there, but Quatre wasn't convinced. He was certain Harry hadn't done this to himself but had no other explanation.

"What happened? If no one was here, how did you get hurt?"

Harry just looked up at him and Quatre didn't have the heart to continue questioning him. He looked so scared and sad. His eyes were haunted and blood shot and his scar had started dripping blood again. His skin was pale and he was trembling harshly. Quatre could feel his fear clearly and knew that forcing him to talk now would just hurt the trust Harry had placed in them.

"Are you sure there was no one here?" Quatre had to ask once more, just to be positive.

Harry nodded and let his head fall to his knees. He pressed his eyes into them, trying hard to make the images of the dead go away. He suddenly scrambled to the toilet and threw up once more.

Wufei entered the door, his sword at his side. Quatre was rubbing soothing circles on Harry's back as the boy tried to stifle his sobs.

"Is he hurt?" Wufei asked quickly.

"No, I think he's just sick. Is the perimeter secure?"

"Yes, we couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Did Harry say what happened?"

"No. But he is positive that no one was here." Quatre sighed. He noticed that Harry had passed out with his head leaning on the toilet seat. "I have to get him back to bed. Get a bucket incase he throws up again."

Wufei slipped into the hall and went to do as he was told. Quatre wiped Harry's mouth and scar off once more before lifting him into his arms with little effort. He carefully carried him back into his room and lay Harry on the bed. Trowa appeared behind them with a washcloth and bowl of water.

He placed a hand on Harry's forehead. "He has a fever."

"I'm not surprised," Quatre said.

"Did he say what happened?"

"No. And I'm not asking him until he's better."

Trowa didn't question his words as he placed the washcloth on Harry's forehead. "I'll get some medicine."

"Thank you."

* * *

The next morning, Duo and Heero came home.

"HEY!" Duo shouted as he kicked the door open. He never bothered with the coded knocks they had come up with. Duo had his own way of making an entrance and the other four were plenty used to it by now. "We're back!"

Duo stopped short as Quatre and Trowa glanced at him with tired faces. Quatre offered a smile and stood to greet them as Wufei appeared in the living room, also looking warn out.

"Woah," Duo studied the three. "You guys look like death warmed over. What's up?"

Heero pushed Duo forward and shut the door, tossing their belongings onto a chair. He frowned as he noticed stitching in the cushions.

"Welcome back," Quatre greeted them, ignoring Duo's comment. "That certainly was one long mission."

"Yeah, took forever but we managed to shut the guys down," Duo bragged. "So what's with you guys?"

"Harry gave us a shock last night," Quatre explained as he sat back on the couch and curled up next to Trowa.

"Is he alright?"

"He's sick, but it should past," Wufei said. "The only thing we're worried about is that his scar won't stop bleeding."

"Bleeding?"

"He was attacked?" Heero demanded.

"No. And yes, we've already checked and rechecked the house." Quatre assured. "No one was here but us."

"So…"

Quatre sat up tiredly and began explaining what had happened.

* * *

Two days after the attack on the Ministry, Harry finally managed to wake up. He was feeling a lot better, physically. His scar still stung a little but didn't hurt as much as before and the pain was gradually fading. His stomach hurt but that was probably because he was hungry. His throat was also sore but Harry was sure it was just from throwing up so much. In fact, he still had that horrible aftertaste in his mouth. Harry flexed his fingers then his toes and everything worked fine so he decided to open his eyes.

The curtains were drawn over his window, blocking most of the light. Harry was grateful because it didn't sting his eyes. There was movement to his side and Harry titled his head.

"Morning, 'bout damn time you woke up," Duo teased. Harry smiled in relief.

"You're back," he whispered, noticing his voice was raw. "We worried about you two. Well, I was anyways. The other three kept saying you were fine."

"They were right. Heero and I had an absolute blast. Haven't had a challenge that big in awhile."

"I'm glad you're okay."

"Speaking of which, what happened to you?"

Harry blinked. What _had_ happened to him? Voldemort had forced him into a vision, something that he had never been done before. He may have shown Harry things, but he had never dragged Harry's conscious after him like a tethered puppy. The fact that he could not only meant the link between them was getting stronger but that Voldemort was learning how to use it. Harry needed to find a way to protect his mind or Merlin only knew what would happen.

"Well?" Duo pressed.

Harry looked at his friend. He had promised himself that he would tell the others if they needed to know. If something like this was going to happen on a regular basis —oh _Merlin_ he prayed not— then they should know about it. Even if it meant they treated him differently or as a security risk, Harry couldn't lie to them anymore. It wasn't right.

"If I tell you," Harry whispered, "Can you… will you try not to get mad at me? 'Cause I swear if I could stop this I would!"

"Calm down. Stop what?"

Harry couldn't bring himself to look Duo in the eye as he spoke. "You remember me telling you about Voldemort?"

"The whack job trying to kill ya? Yeah, pretty safe bet to say I remember."

"The night he hit me with the killing curse a… connection of sorts was made between us."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that the failed curse connected our minds, through this," Harry tapped his scar gently. "Sometimes, usually when I'm asleep, I can enter his mind and see what he sees, think what he thinks. And in return, he can get into my head and see and know everything I know as well."

Duo's face was incredulous. "You're enemy is _inside_ your head. _Literally_?"

Harry nodded. "Not all the time, but yeah."

"And you didn't think it would be smart to tell us this?" Duo exclaimed. Harry flinched at the words. "Harry, he could find out where you are at any given time!"

"No!" Harry turned to Duo pleadingly. "I do know how to protect some things in my mind. I was taught a spell called Occlumency. I'm not all that good at it but I can hide the most important things. And if he did ever take the information from my mind, I would _know_. I would feel it."

"That's not the point—"

Harry interrupted him, feeling slightly hysterical. "Yes it is! I _swear_ Duo! He doesn't know anything! He doesn't know where we are, who you are, or _anything._ He still thinks I'm hiding somewhere in the magical world!"

"And how do you know that?" Harry stopped talking and didn't answer. "You know because one of you was in the other one's head."

"I was in his."

"Why?" Duo demanded but shook his head a second later. "Hold off on that. We're gonna go into the living room to talk. You're going to explain to all of us what the hell's going on."

Harry didn't argue and slipped from the bed. His legs were a little wobbly so Duo reached out a hand to steady him. He helped the sick teen into the other room where everyone was gathered, doing various activities. Duo called everyone's attention and made Harry comfortable on the couch.

"What are you doing, Duo?" Quatre said. "Harry's sick, he needs to be in bed."

"He needs to explain why the enemy is in his head," Duo grumbled. That got everyone's attention as they all gathered in the living room and waited for Duo to elaborate.

And so for the next hour, Harry explained about his visions and the strange connection he had to Voldemort. He even told them the highlights of the prophecy. Most of the conversation Harry spent looking at his lap and the five boys only interrupted when he used a magical term they didn't know.

There was a long silence as everything was absorbed and Harry waited nervously for what they had to say. It was Wufei who spoke up first.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" he asked coldly.

Harry shrugged, pulling his knees to his chest. "Would you tell anyone the darkest wizard of this age had access to your mind?"

"I wouldn't tell anyone anything about a wizard, period."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Muggles."

"Let's not start, you two," Quatre interrupted quickly.

"What is the risk of Voldemort finding our location?" Heero asked his mind already switching into soldier-mode.

Harry thought about. "I don't know. If he could have gotten the info, I bet he would have done it by now. And even if he does find a way to get it, I will know. You don't have information ripped from your skull and not know about."

Heero processed the information and nodded. "How often do these… visions occur?"

"There's no rhyme or reason. Though they almost always come at night because when I'm sleeping, my mental defenses are weakest."

"So that's why you're an insomniac," Duo guessed.

Harry pouted. "I'm not an insomniac."

"You're up at six in the morning every day, regardless of what time you go to bed."

"That just means I'm weird, not sleep-deprived."

"You are when you go to bed at five."

"Do all your visions make you react this way?" Quatre asked, worried for his friend's health.

Harry flinched at the question and hid his face, confusing the others. Quatre could feel Harry's fear and disgust as strongly as though it were his own. He reached out and placed a hand on Harry's head.

"No, they don't," Quatre answered his own question. "This was one was worse. This one was really horrible, wasn't it?" Quatre ran his fingers through Harry's hair, trying to coax the boy into talking.

When Harry lifted his head again, a few tears had escaped his eyes. He wiped them away quickly and the others had enough tact not to comment.

"There was one time he sent me a vision that was fake," Harry admitted. "He wanted me to do something and the only way he could get me to do it was by tricking me. I fell for it and… and someone I loved very much died because of that."

Harry stopped and forced himself not to think of Sirius. He shook his head once and continued.

"But what happened the other night was different. This time he… I guess you could say pulled, me into his mind. What he was doing, he wanted me to see and watch and know. He knew I was there because he would talk to me and I couldn't get away. No matter how hard I fought, I couldn't leave until he let go. And he only let go because they were going back to wherever they are hiding and Voldemort wouldn't let me see something like that."

"What did you see?"

Harry gave a bitter laugh, tears welling in his eyes. "He attacked the Ministry. Killed everyone that was there. It was night so there weren't as many people as normal, but Amy Shacklebolt was there; she's dead now. And Fudge…" Harry ran his hands through his hair, tugging at the black strands. "They strung his body up on the wall for everyone to see. They didn't just kill these people, they tortured them, played with them, made them beg… and only then did they kill them." Harry half-smiled but there was nothing kind about the expression. "Amy didn't beg though, she looked them in the eye and dared them to kill her. She was so strong."

"I'm sure she will be honored," Quatre soothed. "Was she a friend?"

Harry shrugged. "Not really. I only met her once, when she was first inducted into the Order. I kinda know her cousin, Kingsley."

Harry hid his face again and wiped at his eyes. He didn't want to think about this anymore. He didn't want to see those people as they died or hear their screams in his head. He just wanted to pass out and forget everything.

"I would kill for some dreamless sleep potion right about now," Harry muttered to himself.

"Harry, is there anyway to protect you from this?" Quatre asked. "To stop him from getting into your head?"

Harry glanced at him. "Occlumency. I tried learning it last year but it went pretty bad. Though that was mostly my teacher's fault; I guess I could have tried better but it's kinda hard to do it right when you don't know what you're doing."

"Do you have any materials on it? Maybe we can figure it out and try and teach you," Duo said

Harry shook his head. "I already know the theory behind it. But to actually learn the art you need someone to cast Legilimency."

"And that is…?"

Harry uncurled his legs as he spoke, feeling much more comfortable with talking about a spell than what he saw. "Legilimency is the sister-spell to Occlumency. While Occlumency teaches you to guard your mind, Legilimency is what you use to break into it. You can study the theory all you want but you need someone to actually cast Legilimency on your mind to be able to perfect Occlumency. It's one of those the more you do it, the better you get things."

"You were unable to master the skill," Heero stated.

Harry hung his head. "I was starting to get the hang of it but something happened with my…" Harry sneered, "…_teacher_. He refused to teach me anymore and I refused to ask him to continue."

"Gee, angry much?"

"I hate Snape," Harry growled his eyes darkening with hate. "I don't care what Dumbledore says, that man is not on our side. I wouldn't trust him to tell me the truth, let alone with my life. He's nothing but a vindictive bastard who's so obsessed with the past he'll never be able to escape it. He can't—"

"Woah!" Duo called loudly. "Okay, we'll be sure never to bring him up in conversation again."

Harry blushed. "Sorry…"

"So teaching you how to block your mind the magical way is out, looks like we'll just have to do it the good-old non-magical way."

Harry blinked. "What?"

"Part of our training to become Gundam pilots was structuring and disciplining our minds," Quatre explained. "We were trained to resist brainwashing and subconscious suggestions. I'm not sure how effective it will be against magic but it might help."

"Occlumency does depend a lot on the strength of mind and character," Harry admitted.

"Okay. Then we'll teach you how to structure your mind and resist brainwashing. Hopefully, it will help."

"Are there any other little secrets you want to tell us?" Duo asked. Though he was smiling, his tone was deadly serious. "Like, you in mental contact with your friends?"

Harry shook his head violently. "No, that's the last one. I swear."

Heero grunted. "Better be."

* * *

With everyone back and Harry feeling better, they were able to get a replacement bed. Quatre and Trowa went into town to pick one up and bring it back. Even with the new mattress, Harry's insomnia had become worse. Before he had simply had trouble falling asleep and was so used to waking up at a certain time, he did no matter what. Now though, Harry was terrified to go to sleep. He had no idea what the status of the wizarding world was or how often Voldemort attacked. He couldn't handle another vision like the Ministry.

So Harry did whatever he could to stay awake. He didn't care that Quatre scolded him every morning or that Duo lectured him about needing to be healthy. Harry would rather be tired and look like a zombie than relive another vision. The only time the five boys saw Harry sleep over the next two weeks was when he passed out from exhaustion.

As promised, Quatre began teaching Harry the basics for disciplining his mind. It wasn't particularly hard, just very boring. It was a lot of focusing and clearing your head. Harry personally thought that Quatre was trying to get him to fall asleep during their lessons but so far Harry hadn't fallen for it.

Two weeks after Harry's vision found everyone at home. The ex-pilot's missions had slowed down and the few they went on now were short and easy, barely taking a day to complete. This night, Duo had scrounged up some movies and popcorn and everyone was gathered around the TV for a relaxing night.

Trowa and Quatre were curled together in the larger armchair while Heero was in the smaller with Duo on the floor, resting his head on Heero's legs. Wufei was on the couch, reclining his feet on the coffee table and Harry was sitting next to him. Duo stuck the movie in and pressed play, skipping all the previews.

It was a semi-horror flick mixed with comedy. Well, the movie was actually meant to be horror but for the six boys who had lived and fought in wars, it wasn't all that scary and rather humorous at times. Harry hadn't liked the movie very much because the character he liked was killed early off. He had whined about it before pouting and not really paying attention to the rest of the show. He was so tired, Harry ended up laying his head in Wufei's lap and falling asleep. The Asian boy had been shocked at this but did nothing to move Harry away.

By the end of the movie, everyone had fallen asleep. Harry woke up from a nightmare to see the credits rolling. He sat up, scratching his head and angry at himself for falling asleep in the first place. He glanced around at all his friends and smiled. He rarely got to see them sleeping and looking so peaceful.

Quietly, Harry slipped from the couch and into their bedrooms. He grabbed a blanket from everyone's bed and began covering the other boys up. Harry covered Duo before tossing a blanket over Heero. The blanket ended up covering Duo's head (which was still on Heero's lap) so Harry reached over to rearrange it. His heart skipped a beat when Heero suddenly popped his eyes open and gripped Harry's wrist before the wizard could even blink.

Their eyes met and Harry let out a breath of relief when Heero let go of him. He smiled apologetically.

"Sorry," Harry whispered. "I was just trying to get you a blanket." Heero nodded slowly and allowed Harry to finish his task. "Sorry for waking you."

"Go to sleep."

Harry blinked at him in surprise. Heero had never shown any concern in his sleeping habits before. He usually let him do whatever he pleased so long as Heero could still monitor him.

"You will make yourself sick," Heero continued seriously. "Our job is to protect you from all harm, including the harm you bring upon yourself." Harry took on an affronted face. "You will sleep or I will drug you and force you to sleep."

Harry seriously doubted that Heero was lying. And if given the choice Harry would rather sleep on his own. If he was drugged and had a nightmare, he wouldn't wake up. With a small pout, Harry grabbed the last blanket and returned to the couch, retaking his position on Wufei's lap. It never even occurred to him that this was an awkward place to rest. Harry was so tired, he was asleep in moments.

Wufei's eyes opened as he stared at the wizard on his lap. He couldn't understand, after all their fighting, why Harry was so comfortable around him. They argued nearly the entire day but at night things were different. Before Harry had stopped sleeping, he had always stayed near Wufei. When Snowball had been around, the two had worked together to take care of the cub. They fought a lot, picking on each other and doing whatever they could to make the other mad but when Wufei thought about, it wasn't serious fighting. At first it might have been but now Wufei realized he rather enjoyed their arguments. Harry had a point of view that was both childish and mature and he did not hesitate to share it with Wufei. The teen allowed a slight smile as he stared down at Harry's sleeping form.

"Hmm, thank you, Heero." Quatre's sleepy voice was muffled by Trowa's chest. Trowa shifted, pulling the blonde closer. "He really needed to sleep."

"Damn insomniac kids," Duo grumbled from the floor.

* * *

The next morning Wufei was trapped on the couch.

Because Harry hadn't slept in so long, when he did finally let his body fall asleep, he wasn't waking up anytime soon. The other four ex-pilots were up and moving about but so long as Wufei had Harry's head in his lap, he was confined to the sofa. Quatre had ordered him not to move because he was positive the movement would wake Harry up and they'd be back to where they started with him. Wufei had been fine with it when he first woke up but now, three hours later, he really had to go.

The only thing keeping him relieving himself was his long training in controlling his body. But even so, Wufei had his limits. If Harry didn't wake up soon, Wufei was going to have to risk Quatre's wrath by moving him. As the old saying says, when you gotta go, you gotta go. He hadn't even been able to meditate this morning yet. Probably the only good thing about his current predicament was that Duo left him alone, not wanting to risk waking Harry with a prank or argument.

Harry suddenly yawned and shifted. He turned over to his side, pressing his face into Wufei's stomach. Wufei blinked. Quatre and Trowa were locked away in their room having some "alone time" and Duo and Heero had left on a walk for some alone time of their own. Wufei was left on his own watching Harry sleep and trying hard not to think of running water.

Harry's face was now facing him and Wufei studied it carefully. He wasn't as relaxed as most are when sleeping. His eyes were shut tight and his mouth pulled into a frown; the only sign that his sleep was not a peaceful one. All night Wufei had been surprised at his lack of movement. Usually people tossed or turned in their sleep but Harry had remained eerily still. Wufei felt a pang of sadness that this boy could not escape his hard life even in his dreams.

Harry also looked young when he was asleep. Admittedly, he already did look younger than he was because of his small size and oversized clothing. His face was beginning to lose its baby fat but he still looked boyish. It was his eyes that told his true age. Wufei had never seen such expressive and bright eyes before. They made reading Harry's emotions as easy as reading a book.

When he was happy, the emerald color shone and sparkled. His entire face softened up with joy. The exact opposite happened when he was sad. His eyes dimmed and the color looked darker. When he was angry (as Wufei had often seen him) they darkened like when he was sad but they also had a shine to them, a passion. Harry was different from the five of them in that respect; while they controlled their emotions perfectly, Harry was ruled by his.

Wufei watched as Harry's face scrunched up and his body became tense. His hand grabbed at Wufei's shirt, holding it tightly like a frightened child. He pressed his face closer to Wufei's stomach, futilely trying to hide from whatever nightmare had found him. It wasn't long before his eyes flew open and Harry sat up with a jolt. His breathing was hard and he didn't notice his surroundings as he recovered from the imaginary fright.

When Harry had calmed down, he let himself fall backwards. He sat back up again just as fast as he realized just who exactly he was using as a pillow.

"Wufei!"

Wufei simply raised an eyebrow. "Harry."

Harry suddenly blushed. "Did I sleep here the entire night?"

"Yes."

The blush deepened and Wufei had to admit he found the soft red color rather appealing. "Sorry."

Wufei shook himself from his daze. "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry for falling asleep on you," Harry repeated a little louder. "It won't happen again."

"It was fine. I didn't mind."

Wufei stood to use the bathroom, leaving Harry surprised on the couch. Harry watched him walk away curiously. He had expected someone as private as Wufei to be upset or annoyed by the intrusion into his personal space but the older teen seemed to be fine with it. Harry shrugged and was just grateful he hadn't gotten yelled at. It was too early for arguing.

Scratching his head, Harry started to stand when, without warning, the fireplace came to life. For one horrible moment, Harry thought someone was using the floo to get to them but then remembered this house wasn't connected to the network and was muggle.

That didn't change the fact that now there was a fire burning brightly when a second before there had been none. Harry watched it curiously as it turned from orange to black. The flames seemed to move around and collapse in on themselves, forming a shape in the fireplace. A moment later they solidified and a very familiar tiger cub was lying in the ashes.

Harry's eyes widened in disbelief and joy. "SNOWBALL!"

The tiger cub sat up, blinking at the shout. He spotted Harry and jumped from the fire. The cub was larger than Harry remembered, standing almost three inches taller. His body was longer too and his tail had grown almost two inches. Snowball made the same yipping sound as always and shook himself hard. As Harry watched, all the beautiful white fur was flung away, replaced by pure black fur instead. The dark stripe on Snowball's head turned from black to white. The once blue eyes had turned green; matching Harry's perfectly.

The tiger cub yipped again and pounced on Harry happily, licking his entire face.

Harry hugged the creature to his chest, smiling widely. His head whipped around and he opened his mouth, preparing to call for Wufei, only to see the boy already standing in the living room, watching the scene in disbelief. Harry stood on the couch, clutching Snowball to his chest with the dumbest looking grin on his face.

"Wufei!" Harry exclaimed. "You see! I told you he was magical! I'll bet anything he's in-tune with fire and that's why he jumped into the flames!" Harry's eyes widened with an idea. "Maybe he'll be in my Care of Magical Creatures book! Oh I gotta check!"

Before he had a chance to jump from the couch, the front door opened and Heero and Duo entered the house at the same time a disheveled looking Trowa and Quatre appeared behind Wufei in the hall.

"What was all that shouting?" Quatre demanded.

"What are you holding, Harry?" Duo asked.

Harry beamed at them all. "Snowball is alive!"

Harry jumped from the couch and hurried to his room, intent on finding his book and looking up Snowball's breed.

* * *

"So why'd you name it Snowball?" Duo asked curiously during dinner that night.

He had taken a great liking to the mischievous cub and was currently teasing him by waving his long braid in front of his nose and jerking it away when Snowball tried to catch it. When the cub wasn't playing with Duo, he was usually haunting Trowa's side of the table, getting fed bits of food from Trowa's plate. Snowball had been wary of the boys he didn't know but after all the attention, playing, and feeding, he had warmed up to them quickly.

"I wouldn't expect you to name something pitch black Snowball," Duo continued pulling his braid away.

"It used to be white," Wufei groused.

He had mixed emotions about Snowball being back. On the one hand, he was glad to see Harry so happy again, they all were, but on the other hand, Wufei knew from experience how destructive the little cub could be. He didn't like the idea of having to go get another bed.

"So why's he black now?"

Harry, who was in the kitchen finishing up making dinner, answered. "According to my book, as magical tigers grow, they change fur color. If they've bonded with a human, which is really rare, their fur takes on the color of that person's natural hair color and their eyes change to match the human's as well."

"So he bonded with you?" Quatre asked, smiling as Trowa discreetly fed the cub. Harry hadn't noticed the special treatment yet.

Harry shrugged as he flipped the stir-fry once more. "I guess. I'm not sure why though, I only had him for a few days and the book says it's really hard to bond with magical tigers."

"Maybe it was because he's so young?" Quatre tapped Trowa's hand and leaned close to whisper, "You'll spoil his dinner." Trowa obediently stopped handing out the treats. Snowball whined at the loss and seemed to glare harshly at Quatre, as if he knew it was the blonde's fault he wasn't getting fed anymore.

"Are magical tigers smarter than normal ones?" Duo asked, having watched the exchange.

"All magical creatures have a higher intelligence than regular ones." An image of Pig, Ron's owl, popped into his head. "Well, almost all of them."

Harry turned the heat off and began filling the plates with food before serving everyone. Snowball saw the dinner and began running around Harry's legs happily, acting more like a puppy than a tiger cub. Harry smiled down at him and put the plates on the table before his friends.

"Stop it, Snow," Harry ordered. "You'll get yours in a moment." The cub immediately stopped running around and sat, looking at Harry expectantly. Harry laughed at him and went to finish getting everyone's plates.

"So what are we going to do with him?" Duo asked after everyone had been served and Harry sat down. Snowball was next to him, tearing into his chicken with gusto.

Harry froze, his eyes finding Wufei's. He shot him the most hopeful, doe-eyed look he could muster. Harry was sure Duo and Quatre wouldn't say no to keeping him and Trowa seemed enamored with him too. All Harry had to do was convince Wufei and Heero. Heero, he was pretty sure, wouldn't care either way so long as Snowball stayed away from him but Wufei had already expressed his dislike of the animal. Harry was positive that if he got Wufei to say yes, he could keep Snowball without any argument.

And Wufei knew it. That was why he glared at Harry's face before scowling angrily. "We're going to keep it," he grumbled. Harry's face lit up brighter than a sparkler against a black sky.

"We are?" Duo questioned, staring at Wufei in surprise.

"We cannot give a magical creature to a non-magical zoo and Harry would need to contact friends to get it taken to a magical preserve," Wufei explained coldly remembering the argument he and Harry had had right before Snowball jumped into the fire. Harry pet his new found pet happily.

"Cool." Duo shrugged. "We're going to have to house train it, though. I'm not letting it eat my pillows again."

"That shouldn't be too hard. Magical animals are easier to train than non-magical ones. And Snowball will be good."

The tiger yipped and jumped onto Harry's lap. He placed his front paws on the table and began devouring Harry's dinner. Harry yelled no, pulling the tiger away from the food.

"No Snowball," he scolded firmly. "That's my dinner. You ate yours."

The cub looked at him with big eyes, tilting his head just slightly and letting out a small yip of pleadingly. Harry caved instantly.

"Okay, you can have some."

Snowball began eating again while Duo rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, it'll be real easy." He snatched the plate away, frowning in disapproval at the confused cub and sheepish Harry.

* * *

**A/N: My favorite part of this chapter was when Heero said he would protect Harry even from himself. I could totally see Heero, being as hardcore as he is, trying to save someone from their own faults. And I'm sure everyone else favorite part of this chapter was Snowball's return.**


	9. A Fate Worse Than Death

**And so I can finally explain about the title of the story. The event at the end of this chapter is the "Fate worse than death" that the story title refers to.**

**You know a chapter's important when it shares the name of the story. I love this chapter.  
**

**Chapter Nine: A Fate Worse Than Death**

"Harry!"

Harry straightened when he heard his name yelled. He had been looking under the bed for Snowball, who had run off when Harry was trying to teach him to not eat pillows. From the sounds of things, Quatre had found him.

Harry hurried to the bathroom and blushed bright red when he saw Quatre standing in the doorway with nothing but a towel on and dripping wet. He held a happy Snowball in his arms.

"I'm sorry!" Harry said. "I don't know how he gets past closed doors."

"Just try to teach him to stay out of the bathroom, okay?" Quatre sighed, handing Snowball back.

"Okay." He took Snowball and headed back to his room. "You gotta stop running off like that, Snow. You're getting both of us into trouble."

Snowball licked his face. Harry sighed. "You're such a pain."

"Not as easy as you thought it would be?"

Harry looked up at Wufei and sighed. "He does everything I tell him but whenever I say no, he won't listen."

"You go back on your punishments. If you'd follow through he'd behave better and not end up in the shower with Quatre."

Wufei sat on his bed and Snowball jumped away from Harry and into his lap. The Asian teen frowned at him.

"Watch." Wufei pointed at the floor and in a stern voice ordered, "Down."

Snowball cocked his head at him and shook out his fur cutely. Wufei was not impressed.

"Down. Now."

Snowball's ears dropped and he jumped off the bed, his tail between his legs. He turned to stare at Wufei sadly. Wufei didn't budge.

"Stay off the bed."

Snowball turned away and jumped back into Harry's lap, making himself comfortable. Harry absently began petting him.

"I guess I just gotta be firmer. But he's so cute."

"And he knows that. Which is why he always acts cute when you tell him no, because he knows it will change your mind. You're spoiling him."

Harry sighed. "I'm bad at saying no. And the few times I have managed to say it, no one's ever listened." Harry's eyes slipped closed as he talked. Despite the long rest he had gotten two nights ago, he was still pretty tired. Harry had spent most of last night awake and playing with Snowball and today all his energy had been used up chasing the cub around.

"You need to be unyielding. If they will not listen, make them listen. Do not back down."

"Easy for you to say," Harry grumbled. "You guys are tough."

Wufei raised an eyebrow at him. "And you are not?"

Harry opened his eyes, thinking honestly about it. "I guess… it depends on the situation. I've had to save my own life and other people's lives many times before, but… eh, I don't know. I can fight Death Eaters, but I couldn't stop my Uncle from beating me. I can take on dragons and giant spiders, but I can't stop some teacher from forcing me to carve 'I will not tell lies' into the back of my hand."

"I will not tell lies?"

"Long story," Harry dismissed. He yawned widely.

"You should sleep. You're going to make yourself sick."

"I'm fine."

"You're afraid. When was the last time you had a vision?"

"…When I told you guys the truth."

"We all have nightmares. You should not let them rule you." Wufei paused before making up his mind. "Come here."

"Come where?"

Wufei rolled his eyes. "Here. On my bed. Now."

Confused, Harry did as asked, carrying Snowball with him. He knelt on the bed, looking at Wufei curiously.

"Now what?"

Wufei rolled his eyes again. He grabbed the back of Harry's head and pulled him down onto his lap. Harry looked at him in confusion and more than a little embarrassed.

"Wufei?"

"Nightmares aren't as bad when you have someone next to you who will wake you up. As Heero said, we were hired to protect you from all harm, including the harm you do to yourself."

"You were awake?"

Wufei grunted. "Go to sleep. If you have a nightmare, I will wake you."

Harry was too tired to argue. And he did feel very comfortable where he was. He shifted around, moving Snowball so that he wasn't lying on top of the cub. Wufei pulled a blanket over Harry's shoulders and reached for a book on the nightstand.

Just as Harry was falling asleep he whispered quietly, "Thank you."

Wufei smiled.

* * *

"Quatre!" Duo hissed, grabbing the blonde's arm and jerking him unexpectedly into the closet as the blonde walked by.

Quatre blinked in surprise before frowning at Duo. "What are you doing?"

"Look!" He moved so that Quatre could peek out the door crack. "Wufei has a crush on Harry! And I was starting to think he was asexual."

Through the small opening, Quatre could just see into Harry and Wufei's shared room. Harry was sound asleep on Wufei's lap, one arm wrapped around Snowball, who was calm for once while chewing on a toy. Wufei was resting his back against the wall, reading a book, one hand absently resting in Harry's hair.

"Now that's unexpected," Quatre said, his annoyance with Duo disappearing at the new development. "Did you see that coming?"

"No one saw that coming. Who would have thought he went for young, innocent boys?"

"That sounds wrong, Duo. I wonder how Harry feels."

"He seems pretty comfy to me." Duo shot his friend a sly look. "So… how are we going to handle this?"

Quatre frowned at him. "Duo, this is Wufei we're talking about. You know how he is. He's more likely to reject our help and accidentally say something hurtful to Harry than let us help him."

"Aw but…"

"No buts, Duo. We'll leave them alone. Besides," Quatre glanced at the relaxed pair, "He seems to be doing just fine without our assistance."

"All right. But if he doesn't do anything, I'm getting involved."

"We'll see."

The door was suddenly flung open and Heero and Trowa stood before the two, looking at them suspiciously.

"What are you doing?" Heero demanded.

Duo grinned widely and bounced from the confined space. "Nothing Hee-chan."

"We were simply discussing something," Quatre dismissed. They both left the closet, small smirks on their faces. Trowa and Heero exchanged looks and decided not to ask.

* * *

Harry's sleeping habits improved greatly now that Wufei had promised to wake him if he ever had a nightmare. Never before had Harry had someone to watch over him. His friends had always been there to help but they always came after the nightmare was over. Wufei was there to stop it before it even began. Whenever Harry stirred in his sleep or scrunched up his face, Wufei would shake him awake just enough to get the nightmare to disappear before sitting with him until he fell asleep again.

It never even crossed Harry's mind that the arrangement was strange. Harry knew his other friends would never be caught dead sleeping next to another guy without a really good reason but Harry didn't care at all. When he thought about it, actually sat and tried to remember, he couldn't once come up with a situation when he had slept in the same bed as someone else. He'd been alone at the Dursley's, and Hogwarts he only shared a room with others. Harry had never known that sleeping next to someone could be so comforting. Their body warmth and constant presence was soothing to him.

Snowball had also started behaving. He still didn't listen when Harry, Duo, and Quatre told him no but the tiger cub didn't dare disobey Trowa, Wufei, and Heero. When those three said no, Snowball listened; when the other three said no, he made a cute face and they caved in, letting him do what he wanted. So depending on who was away on a mission that day usually determined if the house got ruined by the animal or not.

It was now the beginning of December and Harry had been living with the ex-pilots for five months. Really, it felt like he had known them his entire life. Harry had even gotten Heero to warm up to him. He wasn't entirely sure how they'd become such good friends when Heero rarely spoke and Harry had been slightly afraid of him but they had somehow managed it.

Currently, Harry was staring out the window at the snow covered forest. It was very beautiful with sun beams filtering through the trees, making the newly fallen snow shine and the frozen lake glisten. Harry noticed Heero exercising out by the lake and decided to bring him something to drink. He'd discovered Heero had a strong liking for hot chocolate but would never admit it. Harry knew he was right because no matter what time of the day Harry gave it to him, Heero always drank it but with other drinks, Heero would get so wrapped up in his work, he would forget all about them.

Duo had laughed when Harry pointed this out and claimed that his lover had a sweet tooth that he hid very well.

He grabbed a thermos and threw a coat on. It had used to be Quatre's but fit Harry well enough. He tugged on some gloves that were once Duo's and headed outside. Snowball followed him quickly out the door before it closed. Harry laughed at his pet.

"Want to visit Heero with me?"

The cub seemed more interested with the snow than Harry's words. He sniffed the white stuff, testing how it felt on his paws. The snow melted under his feet becoming a pool of water and Snowball stepped away, growling.

"It's just water, Snow." Harry laughed. Snowball continued to growl and backed up into the door. Harry shook his head and opened the door, laughing even more when Snowball dashed back inside, growling and baring his teeth. "I couldn't have picked a worse name for you. Maybe Duo's right, I should change it."

Harry closed the door and jumped off the porch, finding Heero still by the lake. It was a decently warm day for December. He waited patiently for Heero to finish his set of kicks and punches before interrupting.

"Did you need something?" Heero asked taking a deep breath and standing straight.

"You looked cold." Harry held out the thermos. "I brought you some hot chocolate." He held out the drink and Heero took it, sipping carefully.

"Your pet didn't follow you?" Heero had noticed Harry on the porch with Snowball.

"I think he's afraid of snow," Harry said. "Duo was right. Snowball is a terrible name for him."

"Hn."

"I would have picked another one if I knew he was related with fire or that he was going to turn black."

Heero frowned. "Related with fire?"

"That's what my book says. It doesn't have a lot of info on magical tigers but apparently they're all connected to a particular element. I don't know why or how, my book doesn't go into any detail. I'm assuming Snowball's connected with fire because he jumped into the fire and will only go near water if he's drinking it."

"What does that mean?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm not really sure, to be honest. I think it just means he can't be hurt by fire and doesn't like water. There's probably more to it but I don't have any way to research it."

Heero said nothing as he finished his drink. Harry glanced at him from the corner of his eye and noticed his gun resting in view on his hip. Harry knew all five of his protectors carried the weapon but they all concealed it so well he rarely ever saw it. Heero's was only visible now because he was exercising and hadn't bothered to hide it.

"Hey Heero…" Harry called hesitatingly. This question had been in the back of his head for awhile now but Harry had never really wanted to ask it. But now, seeing the gun in plain view, Harry figured he could at least try.

The blue eyed teen stared down at his charge, frowning at his suddenly nervous behavior.

"Can I," Harry gestured at the gun, "try shooting it?"

Heero looked at him in mild surprise. Aside from Quatre teaching him how to discipline his mind, Harry had never shown any interest in learning their skills. Heero had been fine with that. He didn't like the idea of giving Harry a gun to practice with. Not only because Harry had no idea what he was doing but also the image of a teenager, especially one as kind as Harry, holding a gun just didn't sit well with Heero. However if he knew anything about his charge, it was that the boy was as stubborn as Duo sometimes. It was best to get this out of the way now and make sure he never wanted to try it again.

Heero pulled the weapon from its holster and switched off the safety. This particular weapon had three settings and Heero made sure it was set to a particular one before he stepped over to Harry, taking his hands.

"Hold it firmly," he ordered. Harry obeyed. "Never point it at yourself unless you intend to die or at another unless you intend to kill them." Harry looked at him in shock. "Plant your feet solidly, use both hands." Harry tried to find even footing on the snow covered grounds and lifted the gun. "Look at where you want to hit." Heero pointed to a large tree. "There. Now aim slightly to the left of it, this particular gun has a pull." Harry nodded and did his best to aim. Once Heero was sure he was ready, he stepped behind Harry. "It will be loud. Fire when you feel comfortable."

Harry took a deep breath and re-aimed the gun. He held it for a half minute before finally squeezing the trigger. The gun went off with a loud bang that echoed in Harry's ears. The backlash from the shot was so strong it vibrated through his arm violently. The shot itself was powerful enough that he stumbled back and lost his balance, falling down in the snow. Heero immediately took the gun and clicked the safety back on, making sure Harry wouldn't accidentally set it off again.

"You did not have a firm enough base," Heero reported dully.

"Sorry." Harry hurried to his feet and rubbed his tingling hands together. "I think I'm going to go and dry off in the house. Thanks." He rushed away without another word.

Heero calmly put his weapon away and picked up the thermos bottle Harry had left. There was only a little hot-coco left and Heero allowed himself to feel a small pang of disappointment that there wasn't more. As he took a sip Duo appeared from the trees, casually walking towards his lover.

"What was all that about?" he asked.

"He wanted to shoot a gun."

"And you let him? Scared the hell outta me. Quatre and Trowa were nearly out the door before we realized it was just you."

Heero shrugged. "He will not ask again."

"Oh? Did it freak him out?" Duo looked at the weapon on his lover's hip and snatched it from the holster. "Heero…"

"He will not ask again."

Duo sighed and put the weapon away, kissing Heero lovingly. "You cheater."

The gun was one that had been specially made for Heero. It was more powerful than the average weapon and Heero had set it on the highest of three settings, which was designed to give the bullet maxim distance without losing power. It was a hard gun to handle for someone trained and nearly impossible for someone who had never shot a weapon before.

Heero had set Harry up.

* * *

"Hey Quatre?" Harry called sticking his head in the blonde's room. The blonde was sitting with Trowa, going over something on the computer.

"Yes Harry?" Quatre paused in his typing and smiled politely at his friend.

"Have you guys seen Wufei around?"

"Not for awhile, actually."

"He was called on a mission a few hours ago," Trowa said quietly.

Harry blinked. "He… left?"

"Wufei rarely announces when he leaves. He usually just leaves a note. You should know that, Harry."

"I do… I just thought, I mean…" Harry forced a smile. "Never mind. Thanks."

"Did you need something?"

"No, I was just going to take a nap."

Quatre frowned, not having heard him. "What?"

"Nothing. Thanks guys," Harry closed the door behind him.

Quatre turned to Trowa. "Did he say he wanted to take a nap?"

Trowa nodded. "Wufei should not have left without telling him."

"Oh?"

"They will fight when he returns."

Quatre smiled. "What makes you think that?" The brunette shrugged. "Whatever you say, Trowa."

Quatre leaned back into his boyfriend's shoulder as they continued working.

Harry had found the note Wufei left and read it over. He then promptly ripped it into six tiny little pieces and held them out to Snowball.

"Burn it, Snow," Harry ordered. The little cub obeyed and the paper was engulfed in a brief puff of fire. "Good boy." Harry patted his head and made his way to his room.

* * *

The next morning Wufei arrived back after breakfast. Harry usually had something made for the guys when they got back from missions but not this time. He finished taking care of all the plates, glared angrily at Wufei, and stomped off to his room. The Asian boy looked from the closed bedroom door to the other four sitting at the table.

"What?"

Quatre just sighed. "You might want to go apologize to him."

"For what?"

"Just go talk to the kid. I'm sure Harry will let you know what you did wrong," Duo said.

Wufei's frown deepened but he obediently went to speak with the younger teen. He didn't bother knocking and barged in, kicking the door shut behind him. Harry was sitting on his bed, flipping angrily through the pages in his monster book. He didn't acknowledge Wufei as the Asian teen tossed his belongings onto his bed and turned back around.

"Why are you angry with me?" Wufei asked, straight to the point. He had never been one for beating around the bush. If he wanted to know something, he asked; if he wanted to tell someone something, he told them.

Harry, however, did not have that same direct attitude as him. He was not a confrontational person, even if he was forced into confrontational situations. So instead of answering the question, Harry just shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not."

"Your behavior suggests otherwise."

"So sorry I don't feel like serving you, your highness."

Wufei's dark eyes narrowed. "You are not my servant nor do I require one. If you do not wish to talk, fine. I have more important things to do than deal with your pettiness."

Harry glared at him. "My pettiness? What about yours?!"

"I am not petty."

"Yes you are!" Harry knelt on his bed, bringing him to eye level with Wufei. "You just up and left for your mission, not a single word to anyone."

"I left a note explaining my absence. It is what I have always done."

"Because you don't want to say goodbye. Because, even though you're happy for your friends, you're jealous of their relationships. You don't like walking in on them together, even if they're just sitting around, and being reminded that you don't have anyone like them."

"That is absurd," Wufei growled. "I leave a note because it is more convenient than finding someone and wasting my time."

"No it's not because if anything bad happens, the others aren't going to know where you are. If someone attacks, they won't have time to look for a piece of paper; whereas if you told them face to face you were leaving, they wouldn't have to worry. That's the efficient thing to do."

"And since when do you care how I do things?" Wufei was officially pissed off. Harry had no right to say these things to him. Wufei would _never_ do anything to endanger his friends. They were all family, even if none of them ever said it out loud.

"I was just worried about the others."

Wufei scowled. "Now who is being petty; hiding behind lies?"

"I'm not hiding!"

"But you are lying."

Harry sat back down on the bed, his face red and angry. Yes, he was lying, but only because he didn't want to admit the truth to himself, let alone Wufei. He hadn't slept at all last night. He had tried but nightmares had plagued him constantly. The only time he slept peacefully was with Wufei there next to him.

While that was part of the reason he was so upset, it wasn't the whole reason. Harry understood how Wufei felt being surrounded by people in love and being alone himself. At school, all his friends were slowly pairing off, and here, Harry always made sure to be careful about interrupting the others. He knew the ex-pilots treasured their moments together and he always felt horrible when he interrupted them.

Harry had been alone almost all his life; he knew how Wufei felt. But he was also becoming attached to the Chinese youth. Harry had really thought the two were becoming close but Wufei hadn't even thought twice about leaving without a word. And that hurt.

"Why are you so upset?" Wufei repeated his first question staring at Harry as he waited for an answer.

Harry shrugged his shoulders, his anger suddenly gone. "I don't know. Forget about it. I'm sorry for being rude." Harry climbed off the bed and forced a smile, the argument over in his mind. He had overreacted about his own insecurities and taken it out on Wufei. "Did you want something to eat? There are leftovers from breakfast or I can make you something new."

Wufei wasn't sure what he was angrier about: the fact that Harry had started a fight or the fact that he was now walking away from it. If Wufei hadn't been hired to protect Harry, he probably would have hit him. Instead, he grabbed Harry's arm and turned him around before he could walk out the door.

"You may not start a fight and then walk away as if it were nothing," Wufei informed him angrily. It was then he noticed the bags under Harry's eyes. They had been getting better over the last few weeks but now seemed more pronounced. "You have not been sleeping."

Harry blinked at the rapid change of subject. "You already knew that."

"You have slept when I was with you."

Harry blushed brightly. "Yeah well… you wake me up if I have a nightmare."

"Any of the others would do the same."

"I don't want to bug them. It would be selfish to ask them to stay with me for the night instead of with their boyfriends. And…"

"And what?"

Harry shrugged again, finding the floor interesting. "And I'm most comfortable with you."

Wufei was shocked by the quiet admission. It had been a very long time since someone admitted to being comfortable with him like that. Many people trusted Wufei with their lives but very few trusted him with their feelings. And with good reason; Wufei was not always the most sensitive person around. But for someone reason with Harry, he wanted to try. Wufei rather liked the fact that Harry was so relaxed with him and he now understood that he had hurt the teen's feelings by not saying goodbye.

"I am sorry," Wufei said. Harry looked at him in surprise. "I should not have left without saying something to you."

"It's fine."

"It is not. You depend on me and I let you down. It will not happen again."

Harry smiled, finally looking up at Wufei. "I never doubted that for a second, Wufei."

Wufei met Harry's expressive green eyes and saw only trust there. As he had noted before, Harry's eyes were like an open book. They betrayed everything going on in his head. The Asian youth was suddenly hit with the strong desire to kiss the slightly smaller boy in front of him. Before he could stop himself (or have second thoughts) Wufei leaned forward and pressed his lips against Harry's.

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. Neither of them moved as they both stared at each other, trying to gauge the others reaction. It was more like a test kiss, just to see what would happen. Wufei slowly pulled away but kept his face close. Harry's lips tingled and he couldn't deny that he had enjoyed that. Not really sure if it was okay, Harry slowly moved forward, wanting to kiss Wufei for real this time.

They were barely a breath-width apart when there was a loud shout from the living room. Harry's head whipped around towards the door as the noise and shouting continued. Wufei hurried out the door, Harry following closely and desperately trying to control his blush.

In the living room, Duo was sitting in a chair and exclaiming over a large fire on the table to Heero. Harry peered closer and realized that fire was actually Snowball, wreathed in flame. Duo seemed to be enjoying the show while Heero looked slightly disturbed by it. Wufei seemed confused by what was going on but Harry's heart nearly froze in his chest. He could _feel_ the magic Snowball was giving off. Unlike all the small spells he had been using, this was powerful enough to be detected.

"Snowball stop!" Harry shouted desperately. "Stop it, now!" The fire died away and Harry ran forward, picking up his pet as the fire disappeared.

"What's wrong?" Wufei asked noticing Harry's upset face.

Duo grinned. "Yeah, that was one hell of a light show. I didn't know the little guy could do that."

"That's because I told him not to!"

"Why? Nothing got burned."

"You guys don't get it!" Harry shook his head. "_I_ don't have to be the one doing magic for it to be detected!"

That got the ex-pilot's attention. Duo jumped from his chair as Heero spoke. "Can they detect magical creatures?"

Harry remembered Dobby from second year. "Yes."

"How long?"

Harry didn't have a chance to answer as loud banging noises echoed around them and they were surrounded.

Wufei had Harry pinned to the floor before Harry even saw him move. Duo and Heero were standing over them; Heero was shooting at the intruders while Duo flipped the couch, giving them something to hide behind. Wufei kept Harry's head pushed down, covering his body with his own as he drew his gun.

"Shit!" Duo cursed ducking behind the couch. The spells and curses were flying too fast for them to get anything more than a blind shot. "We need to find 03 and 04 and get out the hell out of here."

"Harry." Heero pierced him with an intense gaze. "Can you produce the same shield as when we were fighting Death Eaters?"

"I had my wand then. I've never tried it without it."

"No time like the present!" Duo sang out. The couch suddenly burst into flame as a spell hit it.

Harry raised his hand. "_Protego_!" he shouted. A shield formed around the four, stopping the spells. Harry was shocked to see that the people they were fighting against weren't Death Eaters but Ministry Aurors. He didn't get anymore than a glance before Wufei was dragging him down the hall, Heero and Duo covering them.

What they hadn't counted on was two Aurors disapparatingfrom in front of them, only to apparatebehind them, where the shield was not present. Before they had a chance to defend themselves, the Aurors had shot stunning spells at them. One caught Harry in the shoulder, knocking him out cold. Wufei caught him before he fell but the shield was now gone. The Aurors disarmed the three pilots quickly, preventing them from fighting further by holding them at wand point.

"Do not move, we will attack," one Auror stated clearly.

Faced with so many opponents with unknown powers and weaponless, the boys had no choice but to concede defeat –for now. Wufei held an unconscious Harry close to him.

"What did you do to him?" he hissed in pure fury.

The Head Auror looked to his subordinate questioningly. The man looked embarrassed. "Stunning spell, sir."

The man frowned. "Bind them and revive Potter."

Ropes shot from the tips of the Aurors wands, wrapping themselves tightly around the ex-pilot's arms, wrists, and ankles. Wufei was forced to drop Harry but they were close enough to the floor that he wasn't hurt.

While the Aurors levitated the prisoners to the living room, Harry was woken up. He blinked his green eyes open and was confused to see Kingsley Shacklebolt supporting him. When the dark skinned man noticed Harry's attention, he leaned close to his ear.

"Try and get away," he whispered quickly before moving back. He helped Harry to his feet and led him into the living room. Harry saw his friends tied up and looked to Kingsley pleadingly. The man ignored him, forced to play his part as an Auror, not a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

A moment later the door swung open and Trowa was led in by wand point, carrying an unconscious Quatre. The brunette's eyes were colder than ice and Harry knew, if Trowa had a gun in his hand, none of these people would be alive right now.

"Quatre!" Harry exclaimed. He was allowed to hurry to his friend and placed a hand on the blonde's forehead. Harry watched him closely before sighing in relief. He looked up at Trowa reassuringly. "Just stunned. _Enervate_."

Quatre's blue eyes fluttered open at the spell and the relief was clear on Trowa's face. He carefully put his lover down but refused to let go of him. The Aurors bound them like they had the others and put everyone in the middle of the room. Harry whipped around to face the Head Auror. He was a tall man, reaching Trowa's height, with a shaved head and muscular body. A scar running down his cheek stood out against pale skin.

"What the hell are you doing?" Harry shouted. "Why did you attack them?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "They shot first."

"Because you appeared out of nowhere! They were defending themselves! You have no right to tie them up like that! Let them go!"

"I'm afraid we can not do that, Mr. Potter."

"And why not?"

"They are being held until the Minister arrives."

Harry frowned. "The Minister…?"

"We have been looking everywhere for you, Mr. Potter. The entire wizarding world will be relieved to know that you're alive and well. Many were fearing the worst."

"Gee, what a relief."

The door was suddenly flung open once again and Rufus Scrimgeour stalked in. His yellow eyes took in the situation swiftly as he closed the door and stepped forward. He ignored the five boys tied up for the moment and stepped forward to Harry.

"Mr. Potter, I am Rufus Scrimgeour. It is good to see you are alive and unharmed," the new Minister of Magic greeted.

"It's sad to see Cornelius Fudge is not," Harry countered rudely.

"I see that despite your absence, you've been keeping up with events. Minister Fudge was buried with honors."

Harry said nothing as he watched the lion-like man carefully.

"But that is neither here nor there," he went on. "What we must do now is get you back to the wizarding world and safe."

"Fine. After you untie them."

The Minster looked at Harry disbelievingly. "Untie them? Mr. Potter, they will be brought into the Ministry for questioning."

"On what grounds?!"

"Kidnapping."

Harry stared at him incredulity. "You're joking, right? They're my friends!" Harry shook his head and forced himself to speak calmly. Throwing a fit wouldn't help anyone. "Dumbledore hired them to protect me."

"Did he now? Yes, I do remember him saying something along the lines that you had been sent to someone safe."

"Well there we go. Now that that's settled…" Harry turned towards his friends, raising his hand to undo the binding spells.

"Even so," Rufus said loudly making Harry pause, "They did not have legal permission to take you anywhere so they will still be brought in for questioning."

"Legal permission?"

"They did not have the approval of the Ministry nor the approval of your guardians."

"My relatives have… passed away. They have no say in anything anymore. And the Ministry has no control over me, legal or otherwise."

"I beg to differ, Mr. Potter. With the loss of your last living family, you have become a ward of the Ministry. You are, officially, now an orphan, which means the Ministry has legal guardianship of you until such time as you come of age or are adopted by a suitable family."

Harry's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Every time he had gotten involved with the Ministry, something bad had happened. They had screwed him over more than once and had proved their incompetence on numerous occasions. Harry hated getting involved with the Ministry and now, the Minister of Magic himself, was telling him that the Ministry had legal control of his _life_? No wonder he was being warned to stay away! On the floor, Quatre shifted uncomfortably as he felt Harry's raising panic. He traded a worried look with Trowa before turning back to the conversation.

"That can't be true," Harry argued feebly. "Don't I get any say in this?"

"Not until you are seventeen. And then you must apply for emancipation to be an adult, which must be approved by a Ministry representative."

In other words, Harry was screwed. They were going to do everything in their power to control him and for as long as possible. No _way_, did Harry want to be controlled like that. He stepped away from the Minister, closer to his friends.

"I will not agree to this."

"I am afraid you do not have a choice, Mr. Potter. You are still a minor, after all. But we can discuss this more at the Ministry." He gestured to the boys tied up on the floor. "Bring them by Portkey."

Desperate for a way to protect his friends, Harry blurted out the first thing that popped into his head. "They're muggles!"

Rufus whipped around to face him. "_What_?"

"They're muggles, all five of them. They have no magic at all and only know about it through me."

"You expect me to believe Dumbledore left you in the hands of _muggles_?" the Minster demanded.

"Scan them for magic, if you don't believe me. You can't bring muggles to the Ministry of Magic."

Rufus nodded once at one of the Aurors. The woman quickly ran her wand over Heero, who shot her such a cold glare she felt shivers down her spine. The results appeared before her and the woman gladly stepped away from him.

"It's true, sir," she reported. "He's muggle."

"It seems you have caused us quite the predicament, Mr. Potter. You must enjoy testing us."

"Maybe just a little."

Rufus glared at the teen, who glared right back. The female Auror interrupted the staring contest by clearing her throat.

"What do you want us to do, sir?" she asked.

"Mr. Potter is correct, we cannot take muggles to the Ministry. We can not, however, leave things as they are. Very well, erase their memories."

"No!"

"Fuck you!" Duo shouted pissed off with the whole situation. He had been trying to get free from his binds ever since they were placed on him and had no luck. Apparently magical rope couldn't be untied like normal rope. "You even try to touch our minds and I'll ki—"

"_Silencio_!" an Auror said. The spell hit Duo right in the throat, shutting him up instantly. The teen's eyes widened in shock before narrowing in anger.

"Stop it!" Harry shouted. He hurried to his friend's side and touched his throat. "_Finite __Incantatem_." The spell lifted and Duo hissed in Harry's ear.

"Can't you do that with the ropes?"

Harry squinted at the ropes and noticed they weren't particularly strong. He nodded at Duo once, turning around to face the Minister but keeping his hand behind his back. Harry held up three fingers and Duo prepared himself to move.

"Move aside, Mr. Potter," Rufus ordered. "We will erase their memories and be on our way. We need to get you safely back to the wizarding world."

"Why? They didn't do anything wrong. They protected me, something you claim to be doing." He placed a finger down.

"They are muggles. Muggles who have no relation to our world and have no business knowing about it."

"They're my friends." Harry put another finger down.

"I am sorry that they will have to forget you, but it is for the best."

Harry was momentarily distracted. "Forget me?"

"We can not have them remembering anything about magic and that includes you, Mr. Potter. You are as magical as wizards come."

Though Harry could tell he meant that as a compliment, it pissed Harry off. "So that means I can't have muggle friends? I'm not going to sit here and let you make my friends forget me!"

He waved his hand behind his back at Duo shouting, "_Finite __Incantatem_!"

Duo shot to his feet and Harry had enough sense to duck out of the way. The teen ran straight at Rufus, pulling out a hidden knife from his sleeve. Duo tackled Rufus to the ground but didn't get any farther than that as a spell flung him away from the Minister. Duo flipped in midair to land on his feet. He made to move forward again but an Auror pointed a wand at his head.

"_Obliviate_!"

"No!" Harry screamed. Duo's body went slack and his eyes glazed over. "Minister, stop!"

"_Stupefy_!"

Harry collapsed to the floor as Rufus' spell hit him. The other boys could do nothing as the ropes binding them tightened and different Aurors stepped up behind them. Harry's unconscious face was the last thing Wufei saw as his memory was erased.

* * *

**And so ends the first "part" of this story. We'll be returning to Hogwarts with the next chapter.**

**Hope you enjoyed.**


	10. Welcome Home

**Please, enjoy this chapter. There aren't any G-boys in it but they will be in next chapter.**

**Chapter Ten: Welcome Home**

Tired, cranky, and feeling like shit, Harry slowly made his way up the stone steps of Hogwarts. He had never been so relieved to see the school in his entire life. It had always been like coming home but the feeling were so much more intense this time. Harry had spent an entire week trapped in the Ministry before Dumbledore had finally managed to get them to send Harry back to school. Now he was back and wanted nothing more than to see his friends and rest.

One wish was going to come true pretty quick, at least. Hermione and Ron were standing at the doors, the Marauders Map clutched tightly in Hermione's hands. Harry felt the first smile he'd shown in a week tugging across his face. He stepped away from Dumbledore and hurried to his friends.

Hermione flung herself into his arms with a loud cry and Harry hugged her back fiercely. Ron thumped him on the back, calling, "Welcome back," loudly. The teens held each other for a long minute before Dumbledore stepped up to them.

"Perhaps we can continue this inside," he suggested. "Harry needs to see Madam Pomfrey."

"Are you alright?" Hermione pulled away from the hug and looked him up and down. "You do look pale and you're sweaty." She placed a hand on his head. "Harry! You have a fever!"

"Yeah, I noticed. Come on, I'll explain everything in the Hospital Wing."

The three newly reunited friends began the long walk up the castle stairs. Hermione clutched Harry's hand in hers while Ron had an arm wrapped around his shoulder. Harry didn't argue with the touching, too happy to be back to feel awkward. They didn't talk as they entered the Hospital Wing and Madam Pomfrey descended upon them like vultures to a carcass.

She spent twenty minutes scanning, poking, fussing, and shoving potions down his throat before finally ordering Harry to rest as much as possible and disappearing into her office. When she was gone, Ron and Hermione hurried to his bedside. Dumbledore had left after being assured Harry was okay.

"So what happened, Harry?" Hermione asked worriedly. "Where have you been for the last five months?"

"Dumbledore said he had hired someone to protect you and that's where you were."

Harry nodded. "He did and I've been living with them. I'm sorry I never wrote, but I couldn't. We had to remain hidden and cut off from er… everything."

"So you don't know what's been going on in the wizarding world?"

"I know the highlights."

He then explained about his visions and gave a brief overview of what he had been doing for the last five months. When explaining about the former Gundam pilots, Harry didn't use their names but their designated numbers. He knew the guys would be upset if he told anyone their real names or anything personal about them. He told Hermione they had been soldiers in the muggle war and she understood a lot better than Ron did.

When Harry explained what the Ministry had done taking away their memories, Hermione had been furious. Even Ron was appalled by the treatment of the muggles and he had grown up knowing the importance of staying hidden. Harry had nodded sadly, picturing the blank look in Duo's eyes and the brief flash of horror on Heero's face before he managed to hide the emotion behind his mask. But not even Heero could hide the anger smoldering deep within his eyes.

"What happened after the Minister stunned you?" Hermione asked.

Harry shifted around on the hospital bed, trying to get more comfortable. "I woke up in the Ministry. They asked me a lot of questions about the Order, Voldemort, why I was in hiding instead of coming to the Ministry for protection."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Gee, I wonder."

"Yeah, that was my answer too."

"Why were they asking you so many questions, though? They can't have held you there against your will legally."

Harry sighed. "Actually, they can." He explained about being a ward of the Ministry and what it now meant. Hermione was staring at him in horror and Ron was cursing loudly.

"My family!" Ron exclaimed. "You're already a part of it; we'll just write to my parents and get them to make it official."

Harry felt rush of joy at Ron's selfless offer. He would be honored to be part of the Weasley clan but knew it wasn't possible.

Shaking his head, Harry answered, "Dumbledore tried it already. He even tried to adopt me himself."

"Dumbledore did?" Hermione asked in shock.

"They turned him down because of something in his past, I don't know what, no one would tell me. But if they won't let Dumbledore adopt me, they're not going to let anyone else do it either."

"I suppose not. We have to do something though."

"Why did they keep you at the Ministry for so long, Harry?" Hermione questioned.

Harry's eyes dimmed and his face fell. His friends exchanged worried looks. "They found out about my connection to Voldemort."

Hermione and Ron's faces fell too but they were not surprised. Harry noticed and looked at them. "You knew?"

"Everyone in the Order did," Hermione explained. "But we didn't know where you were, Harry! There was no way for us to warn you."

Harry dismissed her worry calmly. "I know. I understand." This wasn't like fifth year when they had been ordered to not tell him anything; this time, they really wouldn't have been able to find him. "How'd they find out? I thought only certain people knew about my visions, even in the Order."

The two exchanged sad looks again before Hermione spoke. "It was… it was Tonks, Harry."

Green eyes widened in shock. "What?"

"It was an accident! She really honestly didn't mean to say anything!"

"Yeah mate, she was just depressed and didn't know anyone was listening. Let alone that cow Rita Skeeter."

"Oh Merlin, _please_ don't tell me Rita Skeeter knows about my connection to Voldemort!" Harry didn't think he would be able to handle the entire wizarding world finding out one of his most guarded secrets. The way people would treat him, would fear him… it would be worse than anything he had ever had to put up with before.

"Calm down, Harry," Hermione soothed. "Let us explain from the beginning."

"Good idea."

"At first, the Ministry wanted to use you as sort of a… figure head," Hermione explained, "to lift the moral of the wizarding world. They wanted you to support the Ministry and help them look good."

Harry scowled. "Not a chance."

Ron and Hermione grinned at him. "Well they never got the chance because you disappeared. And when it was announced what happened to the Dursleys…"

Harry shook his head, waving Hermione on. He had come to terms with that and didn't want to bring up the bad memories.

"Well everyone feared the worst. Dumbledore made an announcement that you were safe and hidden but a lot of pressure was put on the Ministry to find you and bring you back."

"Yeah, because the wizarding world is helpless without the Chosen One," Ron muttered bitterly. Harry had heard that title when he was at the Ministry and felt the same bitterness as Ron.

"Anyways, Fudge promised to find you but then the attack happened."

"I know about it," Harry interrupted. Hermione looked at him questioningly. Harry simply tapped his scar and she nodded.

"Well there was a young Auror named Amy Shacklebolt, Kingsley's cousin."

Harry nodded sadly. "She died fighting."

Hermione and Ron looked at him in surprise but didn't question him as Hermione continued the story.

"Well, her and Tonks were really good friends. They went through Auror training together and were partners during a lot of assignments. That night Tonks was supposed to be with Amy finishing up paperwork, but had gone home early to meet someone. Amy had said she didn't mind which was why Tonks left."

Harry stared at his lap sadly. Tonks would have died if she stayed that night. Even though it might be a little mean to those who had died, Harry was glad the woman had gone home before everyone else.

"At the funeral she was an absolute wreck. She blamed herself for not being there for her friend. She was in the back with Remus and well… you have to understand Harry, she was upset! She didn't mean anything she said and she regrets it horribly now."

"What did she say?"

"Well, she blamed you, Harry."

Harry looked at Hermione in shock.

"But she didn't mean it! She had thought that if you were here you could have had a vision and stopped the attack. Which is completely unfair and not true! You had nothing to do with this!"

"Go on, Hermione."

Hermione bit her lip and did as told. "Well she was ranting to Remus at the back of the procession. Rita Skeeter was there in her Animagi form and heard everything."

"Did she write an article?" Harry asked unable to keep the fear from his voice.

Hermione shook her head. "No she tried but the Ministry stopped her. They've been monitoring stories released in the Daily Prophet and read hers before it was released. They paid Rita off and made her head of the Prophet to keep her quiet."

Harry sighed. "At least the world wasn't told."

"We're so sorry, Harry. I'll start researching ways to get you out of this custody predicament as soon as possible, I promise."

"Thanks Hermione. At least now I know how they found out."

"Do you have any idea what they're planning on doing with you?" Ron asked.

Harry snorted bitterly. "Yeah, I got a pretty good idea."

"Harry?"

"They spent this entire week running tests and simulations and a whole lot of other stuff I didn't understand." Harry sighed. "The Unspeakables have made some sort of new potion that will force my connection with Voldemort to become active."

Hermione gasped and Ron looked at him in horror.

"They'll be coming next Sunday to try it out."

"They can't!" Hermione exclaimed. "Harry!"

"There's nothing I can do. They have legal control of me."

"Then you'll run away! You might not be able to go back to those people who helped you but at least you could get away!" Ron said his voice determined. "We'll help you!"

Harry however, just shook his head. He lifted his wrist and showed them a small tattoo in the shape of an asterisk. Ron gasped and grabbed Harry's wrist harshly while Hermione looked confused for once.

"Is that an asterisk?" she asked. "Like on a computer?"

"What are you talking about? It's a tracking star!"

Hermione lifted an eyebrow. "A what?"

Harry smiled slightly, not able to resist teasing the two. "Wow, Ron knows something Hermione doesn't. We should mark this day on the calendar."

"Shut up, Harry."

Hermione ignored him. "So what's a tracking star?"

"It's something that was used a long time ago on pureblood children," Ron explained. "Parents would cast it on their kids so that they knew where they were every moment of everyday. You could even modify it to alert you when your kid goes somewhere they're not supposed to."

"How do we get it off?" Hermione asked.

"That's just it, you can't. It's why this spell went out of style back in the eighteen hundreds. Once the spell's cast on you, you can't ever remove it. Not even if the original caster dies. You can transfer it to a different person but it will always be there."

"That has to be an invasion of privacy! Don't worry, Harry. I'm going to research this too and figure something out, I swear."

Harry smiled. "Thanks for caring, Hermione."

"Well of course. What else would you expect? Honestly."

Harry and Ron laughed at her. Harry suddenly felt tired and yawned widely. The yawn was contagious as his friends copied it.

"We should let you rest." Hermione stood. "I have a lot of research to do."

"When are you coming back to classes?"

"Not until Tuesday. I have to get my schedule then talk to all my teachers about making up all the work I've missed."

"Don't worry, Harry," Hermione smiled. "I'll help out with any school work."

Harry smiled at her. "Hermione… you're a good sister."

"A what?"

"A good sister. If there's one thing I'm going to learn from all this, it's the importance of family. I don't have one of my own, so I have to make one."

Hermione's eyes welled with tears and she flung her arms around Harry's neck. Harry looked at Ron desperately but his friend shook his head. Harry had gotten himself into _that_ mess, he would have to get himself out.

"It's okay, 'Mione." Harry patted her head awkwardly.

"I know." Hermione pulled away. "I have to, I have to go research. You get some sleep, Harry." She kissed him briefly on the cheek and dashed from the Hospital Wing.

"Nice going, Harry. Now she's going to be all emotional."

Harry laughed, falling back onto his bed. "I'm glad to be back."

"We're glad you're back too."

* * *

"Ugh…" Harry groaned.

"Gotta face it sooner or later," Ron encouraged. "Don't worry, we already filled the other Gryffindors in on you being back and they promised to help with blocking all the questions. The D.A. too."

"Thanks." Harry smiled gratefully. "Might as well get this over with." Ron pushed open the doors to the Great Hall and led the way inside. Chatter dimmed down as everyone saw Harry. Eyes followed him to the Gryffindor table but the whispers didn't start until he had sat down.

"Welcome back, Harry," Neville greeted. The sentiment was repeated by all his fellow Gryffindors and Harry nodded at them all.

"It's good to be back."

"So where were you?" Seamus called from a few seats to Harry's left.

Harry didn't get a chance to answer as the post owls began swooping in, distracting everyone for the moment. Harry looked up and felt his heart soar with joy when Hedwig came flying straight to him. She landed on his shoulder and hooted loudly, pushing against Harry and nipping at his ear. Harry laughed and moved her to his arm so he could pet her easier.

"Hey girl, I have missed you." Hedwig hooted in agreement as Harry grabbed some bacon from his plate to feed her. "I got a new pet while you were gone."

The owl hooted and looked at him in a way that could only be described as offended. Harry laughed. "Don't worry, he's not a post owl. He's a tiger cub. But…" Harry sighed sadly and Hedwig jumped closer to his face, rubbing her feathers against his skin soothingly.

Harry petted her. "He got left behind at the place where I was hiding," Harry whispered. "The guys won't remember me so they probably won't remember Snowball either. I hope they don't shoot him by accident. Tro—03 will take care of him or at least find him a good home. He really likes animals."

Hedwig hooted and Harry smiled, pulling his owl close to him. "Wanna stay with me today? I'm just going to get assignments."

Hedwig hooted again and jumped onto Harry's shoulder, letting him know exactly what her decision was. Harry laughed and turned back to his food. He noticed a lot of the people with the paper and most of where glancing at him as they read. With a resigned sigh, Harry turned to Ron who also had a copy in his hands.

"What's it say?"

Ron showed him the headline and Harry rolled his eyes.

**The Chosen Savior has Returned!**

**By Rita Skeeter**

Harry tossed the article away. "I don't even want to read it."

"I don't blame you." Ginny spoke up from a few seats down. "Did you ever thank the Ministry for finding you and bringing you back?"

Harry blinked. "I thanked them for stunning me and dragging my unconscious self back unwillingly. Sarcastically, of course."

"Hmph." Ginny rolled her eyes. "That cow-Skeeter strikes again."

"Just get rid of it."

"My pleasure." Ginny nudged her friend and the two stood up. They calmly waved their wands together intoning, "_Incendio_."

Every paper in the hall burst into flames, regardless of whether someone was holding or reading it. Shocks echoed from everywhere as people got their fingers singed. They all turned, glaring hatefully at Ginny and her friend but the red head just shrugged.

"Sorry, I hate lying. It's a Gryffindor thing." The Gryffindors laughed, cheering for the two girls. Professor McGonagall descended upon them and began scolding and lecturing.

"So tell me about the D.A.," Harry requested of Ron.

The redhead looked proud. "Me and Hermione have kept it going. It's gotten bigger too, now that Umbridge is gone. Hermione's doing a great job with picking out spells to learn but she's not a leader like you. It's hard to control people sometimes."

"I'm sure you're both doing great."

"You're coming back, right?"

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, I don't see why not."

"Wicked. We've got a meeting Wednesday." Harry nodded as McGonagall finished yelling at the girls before making her way over to him.

"Welcome back, Mr. Potter," she greeted with a stern frown. Harry beamed at her.

"Thanks Professor."

"Here is your schedule." She handed him the paper. "I want you to talk to all your teachers today and find a way to catch up. Tomorrow I expect you back in classes."

"Yes ma'am." Harry took the parchment and looked it over. Ron glanced over his shoulder and nodded in approval.

"Same as me."

"Cool."

* * *

Harry already knew most of his teacher's from previous years and so they were understanding and helpful in coming up with ways for Harry to catch up on the missed work. The only one who was a real pain was, unsurprisingly, Snape, who had been made the new DADA teacher. The only thing that kept Harry from hexing the man and walking out was the fact that Hermione was waiting beyond the door to the classroom and would force Harry right back inside if he left.

Harry had mostly been assigned reading; lots and Lots of reading. He figured he may as well read every text book he had, it would be easier than all the extra work he was given. The teachers had given him until after Christmas break to be at his classmates' level again. The only assigned work Harry had to make up were the major papers that were a large part of his final grade otherwise they weren't enforcing all the missed homework.

Tuesday classes went well for Harry, if not a little overwhelming. Snape refused to let Harry participate because he was sure that after "running away" for so long, his skills were even worse than before, if that was possible. Once his back was turned, Harry lifted his hand and turned Snape's clothes bright pink.

The entire class erupted with laughter and Snape whipped around, glaring at Harry. Harry forced a shocked look on his face and made sure to keep both hands where Snape could see them. Snape couldn't punish him because Harry had no wand drawn and, as he had just pointed out, Harry had no talent in wandless or non-verbal spells. In other words, he couldn't blame Potter for the prank.

The Gryffindors lost almost fifty points that class but everyone believed it was worth it to see Snape temporarily dressed in pink.

Come Wednesday, Ron and Hermione led Harry to the Room of Requirement after classes ended to meet with the D.A. Ron had been right, the group had expanded. What had once been only twenty-nine students had now expanded to at least fifty. Everyone was sitting in the room provided, waiting for the leaders to arrive.

When Harry entered the room, a swell of cheering broke out from the students. It was loudest from those who had been taught by Harry back in fifth year. Harry blushed, raising a hand in greeting.

Hermione blew a whistle the room provided and everyone fell silent. Harry's friends nudged him forward and he realized he was expected to speak.

"Er…" he scratched the back of his head nervously. "Hey guys. We seem to, uh, have gotten bigger."

"And legal!" Ernie Macmillan called. The group laughed.

"Yeah, so I've heard. Hermione's filled me in on most of the stuff and I have to admit, I was really impressed with everything you guys have been doing."

"Yeah, but now that you're back, we can get back on track," Cho Chang called. Harry was surprised to see that she had returned; they had parted on somewhat bad terms.

"Back on track?"

"Well we've mostly been learning helpful spells and the like but now that you're going to be taking over again, we can start learning battle spells, like before."

Harry frowned as he thought about it. With the war getting as violent as it was, that didn't seem like such a bad idea. Hermione had them learning mostly shields and counter curses. While those were important to know, defending yourself only got you so far. They would need to know how to attack as well.

He nodded. "Alright. Hermione, Ron, and I will sit down and figure something out. We'll let you know next meeting."

There was a murmur of approval from many students. The chatter was interrupted by a fifth year Ravenclaw, whose name Harry didn't know.

"So where have you been since the beginning of the year?" he called over the voices. Everyone instantly stopped talking and looked to Harry expectantly.

Harry had expected this question. "I was in hiding."

"Why?" another student asked.

"Idiot," Ron snapped. "Why the hell do you think?"

"He's faced You-know-who before and never ran away! Maybe our Chosen One is losing his courage."

"What's your name?" Harry asked.

"Erin Hayes. Ravenclaw."

Harry nodded. "Well Erin, before I answer you, I want to make one thing clear. And this goes for everyone, so listen up."

The students leaned forward eagerly for what he had to say.

"Don't ever call me the Chosen One again," Harry ordered firmly. The class looked confused. "The Chosen One is a title the Ministry and people I don't know stuck me with. Just like the boy-who-lived." He glared at them all. "I'm not a savior. I'm a sixteen year old kid, just like the rest of you. The only different thing about me is that Voldemort," everyone flinched, Harry ignored it, "has a personal vendetta against me. That's the only reason I get tangled up in so many messes."

"So why does you-know-who hate you so much?"

Harry shrugged. "That's not your business. My point is, don't call me a savior, Chosen One, or anything else along those lines. You do, you will leave. If everyone keeps doing it, I'll leave."

The students looked cowed and nodded their heads meekly. Harry smiled, trying to lighten the suddenly somber mood.

"Why don't we get started?" he suggested. "I'm eager to watch what you guys have learned."

* * *

Later that night, Harry was sitting up, looking out the window of the common room. He had an open text book on his lap but hadn't read a single word for almost an hour. He couldn't get himself to focus on the reading and had given up.

He couldn't stop worrying about his friends. Were they okay? Did the Ministry only erase their memories or had they followed through with their threat to charge them with kidnapping? Did the memory modifying go smoothly? Or did something happen to damage their minds and leave them scared?

Had they really forgotten him?

Of course they had. Heero would have come looking for his charge if he remembered. The others too, wouldn't have let things go like this. They really had been forced to forget all about Harry. His heart clenched at the very thought and tears stung his eyes. Five boys who had become like family had been ripped away without a second thought.

Wufei was gone.

For the last week, Harry had remembered their brief kiss. It had been so wonderful. His lips tingled, his face was hot, Wufei's chest felt so nice under his hands. Harry had never felt so… right when kissing someone. In that brief moment their lips had touched he had forgotten all his troubles and just let himself enjoy it. It had been so long since Harry had felt that free.

But that didn't matter. Wufei didn't remember him anymore. They could pass each other on the street and he wouldn't bat an eye while Harry would be screaming inside. Any chance they had at being together was gone now. Maybe it was for the best. Wufei and the others were strong; they had lived through their war and didn't deserve to be pulled into another one. Harry wasn't nearly as good as them; he knew he wasn't going to live through his.

Lately, that thought didn't bother him as much as it used to.

"Harry?"

Harry turned to Hermione as she stepped down the stairs. She was dressed in her nightclothes, ready to go to bed.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I was just reading before going to bed."

"Are you actually going to sleep tonight?" she asked. He looked at her questioningly. "I've seen you in the mornings, you're not sleeping well at all."

Harry turned away. "It's Wufei's fault, he spoiled me."

"What?"

"Nothing," Harry said louder. "I'm just having trouble with nightmares. No big deal."

"Maybe Madam Pomfrey will give you some dreamless sleep potion?"

Harry didn't want any potion. "I'll ask her later," he lied. "You should go to bed."

"You should too."

"I will in a few minutes."

"Okay, goodnight Harry."

"'Night Hermione."

She headed back upstairs and Harry went back to staring out the window. He never quite made it to bed that night.

**A/N: This chapter was mainly getting Harry back to school and back into the swing of things. And telling how bad the Ministry is. They will be bad guys in this fic. This was also the second reason Dumbledore sent Harry away. He can't protect him from the Ministry. As seen in book five, Dumbledore may have some sway but the Ministry is still able to interfere with the going-ons of the school. And now that they claimed legal control of Harry, Dumbledore can't use the excuse of being his headmaster to stop them. You'll see the full extent of what this means next chapter.**

**Man guys, I need some inspiration. Seriously, I want to write but I've got nothing. Blah. Help me out with kind reviews. **


	11. Mission Failed

**A/N: Thank you everyone who helped to inspire me with reviews. :) **

**This is an extremely long chapter. I didn't realize how long and there's just no convenient way to shorten it so I just kept it extra long.**

**Chapter Eleven: Mission Failed**

Heero had been staring at the ceiling for the last ten minutes, fifty-five seconds. Duo was next to him and still asleep. Heero was running through things in his mind. Everything was exactly as it should be; his room was spotless, everything was in order and placed exactly where it should be, and Duo was curled into his side just as he was supposed to be, but for some reason, Heero felt like he was forgetting something important. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't remember anything. But the forgetful feeling wouldn't go away and Heero was starting to get annoyed.

Duo stirred and opened his eyes. "Morning," he mumbled.

Heero grunted.

"What's wrong?" Duo asked rubbing the sleep from his eyes and sitting up on his arms.

"…" Heero glanced at his lover. "I feel like I'm forgetting something."

"Yeah?" Duo raised an eyebrow. "I seriously doubt it. I've never known you to forget anything."

Heero nodded and got up. Duo groaned in annoyance, hiding under the covers again.

A full ten minutes later both teens were at the table. Wufei was out training and Trowa and Quatre were still waking up. Duo was staring at the empty table oddly.

"Why was I expecting there to be food when we got out here?"

Heero didn't answer. He had been expecting the same thing.

"Did Quatre promise to make breakfast or something?"

"No, why?" Quatre appeared behind them in the hall with Trowa. "Did you have a request, Duo?"

"Not really…"

Quatre shrugged and entered the kitchen while Trowa took a seat at the table. Wufei entered the house and closed the door. He seemed a lot more agitated than he normally did after training. He sat next to Duo at the table, resting his sword to the side.

"Hey Wuffers. You look stressed."

For once, Wufei answered the other teen seriously. "I haven't been able to figure out why we are still here."

"What?"

"I realized it this morning when I woke up. We've been in this safe house for five months. We have never stayed in one place for more than three months at a time unless it was for a mission."

The others frowned; Wufei was right. They usually moved often to stay hidden and make it nearly impossible to track them.

"We've been going on missions," Duo mused. "But nothing's been major enough to keep us in one spot for so long." He shook his head. "Something doesn't feel right."

"I agree," Wufei said. Heero and Trowa nodded.

"I feel I must add," Quatre spoke, stepping out the kitchen, "that my space heart has been throbbing ever since I woke up. I don't know why, though."

"This is weird," Duo complained. "And freaky."

Behind them, a small whining noise came from the couch. The boys were on their feet, Heero with his gun drawn and Wufei raising his sword. A small black tiger slipped into the open from behind the furniture, looking at them all sadly. The boys exchanged looks, confused by the creature.

"Where did that come from?" Quatre questioned.

Trowa cautiously stepped forward and knelt down to the animal's level. He was surprised when the tiger didn't flinch away but moved forward, rubbing at his hand. He whined again, looking at Trowa with the saddest face anyone had ever seen on a tiger.

"It is a tiger cub. Though I've never seen one with such coloring."

"Is he yours?" Duo questioned. "'Cause, he seems to know you."

"I have never seen him before now." The cub whined loudly. "Perhaps he needs some food?"

"I don't know if we have anything," Quatre admitted and went to check. When he opened the freezer, he was shocked to see it full of meat. Most of it wasn't fit for human consumption but rather… animal. He closed the freezer and hurried back to his friends.

"We have an entire freezer full of food for this animal!"

They looked at him strangely.

"There's a lot of meat and things that you would feed, I'm assuming, to a tiger. And I am certain I didn't buy half the things in there."

"No one else went shopping?" Wufei asked. The others shook their heads. "Something's wrong."

"It is possible we have been infiltrated," Heero stated. The others stiffened.

"Why would someone infiltrate us jut to give us an animal and some food?" Duo asked.

"We should contact Lady Une," Wufei suggested. "If we have been infiltrated we need to move to a safer location immediately."

The others nodded in agreement and Heero retrieved the emergency cell phone they carried. It was only to be used under extreme circumstances and connected to Lady Une herself.

Heero put the phone on speaker for his friend's benefit and waited two rings before it was answered.

"Report." The woman's crisp voice wasted no time with pleasantries.

"We believe we have been infiltrated. Request new housing assignment as soon as possible."

"Agreed. What is the status on your charge?"

The five looked confused. "Who?" Duo called.

There was a brief moment of silence. "Harry. Harry Potter. The boy you're all supposed to be protecting."

There was more silence as the five exchanged blank looks.

Lady Une spoke again from the phone. "Report back to head quarters immediately."

"Understood."

* * *

The five boys arrived back at Preventer Head Quarters within three hours. They stowed all their belongings from the safe house in their offices before heading directly to Lady Une's office on the top floor. The woman was waiting impatiently for them when they arrived.

"Status?" she demanded coming out from behind her desk to face them.

"We're all fine," Quatre soothed, sensing her worry and frustration. "What's wrong, Lady Une?"

"Where is Harry?"

The five stared at her. "Who's Harry?" Quatre asked.

Lady Une hung her head sadly. She had hoped that Duo was just playing a bad joke on her earlier on the phone but apparently not. The others would never let him carry a prank this far, especially not about something so important. If Harry wasn't here, and the boys didn't remember him, then the only explanation was that the wizards had found them.

"I never thought I would say this when talking to the five you," Une sighed, heading back to her seat, "but mission failed."

"What mission?" Heero demanded. He did _not_ fail missions.

Une gestured to the chairs before her. "Sit down, this will take some explaining."

Convincing the five that magic was real was harder the second time around because Une didn't have Harry there to help her demonstrate. She ended up retrieving the old security footage of the first time Harry had been in her office to prove what she said. Heero had checked and rechecked the tape to make sure it wasn't tampered with. The five listened to the conversation that took place that night and watched Harry perform a bit of magic for Duo. She also showed them the copies of Heero's weekly reports, confirming that, not only were they supposed to be protecting Harry Potter, but magic was indeed real.

"There was no trace of him at the safe house," Quatre said. He glanced at Heero. "Not even on your computer, right?"

Heero nodded, still looking over the old reports. They were his, there was no doubt about it. Everything described in the reports matched what he remembered perfectly, except the bits about Harry Potter. He looked at one of the more recent ones and frowned.

"Trowa." The teen looked to him. "Where is that animal?"

"I left him in our office."

"Is something wrong, Heero?" Quatre asked.

Heero held up a report. "The report states the animal is a magical tiger named Snowball and Harry Potter's pet."

"Ah, well that certainly explains where it came from."

"Magic exists," Heero stated coldly.

Lady Une stared at him. "Yes."

"We failed our mission to protect this boy."

"Unfortunately."

"Our memories have been erased and changed."

Lady Une simply nodded. She could see the cold fury behind all five boy's eyes. Never had they failed so spectacularly and certainly never had they had their memories tampered with. This was unacceptable.

"Where?" Heero demanded.

Lady Une shook her head. "None of you have ever been to the wizarding world. You would stand out like sore thumbs and wizards do not allow non-magical people in their world."

"Irrelevant. Our mission was to protect Harry Potter and we failed. This is intolerable."

"Gotta agree with Hee-chan on this one. There's no way we're letting this go. Five months of erased memories and a failed mission is so not cool."

The other three nodded in agreement. It wasn't only a matter of pride but justice. You didn't tamper with the ex-pilots heads, steal their charge, and get away with it. Not by a long shot.

"How do we get to the wizarding world?" Quatre asked. "And is there anywhere you know of that we should look for Mr. Potter first?"

The leader of the Preventers sighed in defeat. It was pointless to argue with these five; she would lose every time.

"The easiest place is London. Once you're there, you'll have to find a way to a place called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"A school of magic?" Duo asked.

"Yes. The Headmaster there is named Albus Dumbledore and he was the one who originally hired us to protect Mr. Potter."

The five nodded and stood, already ready to leave.

"Let me warn you boys," Une called. "It is easy to leave the wizarding world; all you have to do is stop believing. But to get _into_ the world of magic and wizards, you have to _start_ believing."

The five traded looks and shrugged. "Whatever you say, Boss."

It didn't matter if they believed or not. They were going to get into this wizarding world, find and protect Harry Potter, and get some serious payback on the ones who erased their memories.

* * *

"This is the place," Duo muttered. "The Leaky Cauldron." If Une hadn't have told them exactly where to find it, the teens would have walked right past it without noticing. They actually almost had but Heero caught sight of the rundown business before passing it completely.

"The entrance should be in the back somewhere," Quatre said, leading the way inside the rundown building. The place was dark and dirty and filled with less than decent looking people. Even though the five had dressed in dark colors, they still stood out in the crowd. Actually, anyone clean stood out in this crowd.

The boys sat down at a table near the back and waited. A hunched over, scrawny looking man staggered up to them and gruffly asked what they wanted. Quatre asked for drinks and the man stomped away without a polite word.

"Keep an eye on the crowd," Heero ordered.

They sat at the table, looking casual and chatting about nothing. To the untrained eye, they were just five boys getting together and having drinks. No one noticed their constantly shifting eyes and forced smiles. They were waiting for someone to head to the back so the teens could follow them and find out how to get into the wizarding world.

"Ouch!" Wufei suddenly cursed reaching down to rub at his leg. He glared at the little tiger that had bit him. "Damn thing. We should have left it behind."

"With Une?" Quatre raised an eyebrow. "He belongs to Mr. Potter. We should, at the very least, return his pet to him."

"They did a sloppy job covering their tracks," Duo mused. "Whoever took away our memories. They remembered to change Heero's reports, but didn't think that the reports were being sent to someone? Not to mention they left a huge clue by leaving that animal behind."

"Yes, they did such a thorough job on us and the house. It seems almost… purposefully done."

"Maybe it was?" Wufei added his two cents. "Maybe someone had been on Potter's side and left just enough clues for us to try and figure things out?"

"Then why not try and help before the situation became so desperate?" Quatre frowned.

Duo shrugged. "We'll just have to ask this Potter kid when we find him."

"Ouch!" Wufei rubbed his leg again, glaring at the little beast. Snowball nudged his leg and ran in a circle. "Stop it. I am not playing with you." He turned back to his friends.

A few minutes later, Snowball slunk under the table and bit Trowa. The brunette was surprised and scooted back, looking at the animal.

"What is wrong?" he asked it quietly. Snowball, finally succeeding in getting someone's attention, took Trowa's pant leg in his mouth and tugged him towards the back. He released the material, ran forward a few steps, then came back and tugged at the pant leg again.

Trowa frowned but obediently looked where Snowball was directing him. He watched curiously as a man pulled out a stick and disappeared out a door that Trowa assumed led to the trash. Snowball yipped, swishing his tail back and forth and tugging on Trowa's pant leg again.

Trowa turned back to his friends. "I believe the tiger cub has found what we are looking for."

Trowa left the table and his friends followed him without question. The brunette allowed Snowball to lead the way to the back. The door was slightly open and Trowa peered through the crack while the other four fanned out around him to observe the crowd. Trowa watched as the man tapped his stick on the wall in a certain place and pattern. The wall folded away to reveal a busy alley before closing after the man.

Trowa turned back to his friends and nodded. "Target located."

The five filled out the door into the small trash area and Heero was sure to lock the door behind them. He turned to Trowa and waited.

"The man touched the bricks in a certain order." He reached out a hand and copied the pattern exactly. Nothing happened.

"Maybe he did something else we didn't see?" Quatre suggested.

"He used a stick. Not his hand."

"A wand, perhaps? Une did say wizards carried shiny looking sticks as wands."

"Where are we going to find a wand?" Duo frowned.

"Maybe we won't need one," Wufei spoke up. "Maybe it is the magic that matters."

"What are you talking about?"

"Lady Une said that to get in, you must believe in magic. The only people who believe in magic are the ones who have it."

"So to get in, you would need magic," Quatre caught on. "But none of us posses that skill."

"That does," Heero said, pointing at Snowball.

"It's worth a shot."

Trowa reached down and picked Snowball up. The tiger licked his face, loving the attention. Trowa took the animal's paw and touched it in the same pattern as before. They stood back, hoping the plan had worked. It wasn't long before the wall folded away and the bustling alley beyond was revealed to the five teens.

The market type place was a bit rundown and many businesses looked as if they had fallen on hard times. Despite the many people walking about, hardly anyone interacted with each other. The shoppers eyed those not working with suspicion and guarded their purchases jealously.

The five former pilots stepped through the wall before it had a chance to close and schooled their faces to be impassive. Quatre took the lead, walking down the street like he had been their numerous times before. They weaved in and out of the crowd, making sure not to draw attention to themselves. Trowa continued to carry Snowball, knowing the tiger cub would probably run off in excitement and they didn't have the time to chase him down.

"I don't see anywhere that can be of help to us, " Quatre muttered, smiling pleasantly as he stopped at a window and pointed at the things on display. Duo was grinning and gesturing at the objects as well.

"Neither do I. So where do you guys think we should start?"

"I have an idea," Wufei announced. "Follow me."

The other four calmly walked after him, looking for all the world like normal, everyday window-shoppers. They pointed at different stores and spoke casually of the things on display. Wufei lead them to a pet shop and turned around, holding out his arms to Trowa.

"Give me that thing."

Trowa wordlessly handed Snowball over, who seemed very pleased to be held by Wufei. He licked the Chinese boy's face and yipped happily, his tail swishing back and forth wildly as it glowed. Wufei ignored this and headed inside.

Animals of all breeds and species greeted them. Most were owls, ranging from newborns to old, regal birds that looked at them with speculative eyes that held too much intelligence for a bird. Snakes and rats scampered about in cages, performing tricks proudly. As the five looked around, they realized they couldn't even name half the creatures in the store. The signs on the cages told the creature's name and gave a brief description. Quatre was particularly enraptured with a small mouse-looking creature called a Niffler.

A man came out of a door behind the front counter and smiled upon seeing customers. Unlike the waiter at the Leaky Cauldron, this man was pleasant and kind. He walked up to the boys, his arms held wide.

"And what may I help you gentlemen with today?" he asked. "Owl shopping, perhaps? Or are you interested in something more exotic?"

"Actually we were…" Wufei began but was cut off as the man gasped.

"What is that?" he screeched pointing at Snowball. "Is that…" he gasped again, "a magical _tiger_?"

The five boys traded looks, surprised by the man's enthusiasm.

"I never thought… in my life…" the shopkeeper's eyes stared at Wufei in shock. "There are no more than a hundred of these beautiful creatures left! They are one of the rarest animals in the world and only live in Africa! How, in the name of Merlin, did you manage to find one? Never mind that, how did you manage to domesticate it? They're notoriously vicious!"

If the five boys had their complete memories intact, they would have both laughed and sighed at the man. Snowball was the most playful animal they had ever come across; he was as far from vicious as one could get. However, it did explain why he often destroyed the house and ate their pillows. Not that they remembered that, of course.

As it was, finding out the animal Wufei currently carried docilely in his arms was notoriously cruel, was quite a shock. He had been nothing but good for them, if not a little mischievous.

"We raised him," Quatre quickly filled in the silence. "We travel a lot for our work and found him."

"What of the mother?" the man asked eagerly.

"I'm afraid she was dead. Her cub had not even opened his eyes yet so we took him in."

"I see…" the man said. "He must have seen you first," he gestured at Wufei, "since the cub is so comfortable in your arms."

"Why do you say that?" Trowa asked quietly. The man jumped; he hadn't noticed the brunette until he spoke.

"Uh, well, the coloring." he explained. "After a cub's first fire cycle, they take on the coloring of the person they are most attached too. If they are attached to a person, that is."

Well the cub was pure black, like Wufei's hair but Harry also had black hair, something they knew from pictures. And not to mention the animal's eyes matched Potter's as well.

"Tell me, how old is he?"

"A year," Wufei guessed.

The shopkeeper nodded. "Yes, yes, he doesn't look that much older…"

The man stepped forward and cautiously held out his hand to Snowball. The tiger sniffed at it and wrinkled his nose in distaste, turning away. When the man tried to move to pet him, Snowball snapped his teeth and growled. The shopkeeper stepped away, getting the hint.

"Fascinating, simply fascinating."

Duo cleared his throat. "Uh, we did come in here for a reason, ya know." He glanced at Wufei who nodded.

"Of course!" the shopkeeper exclaimed shaking his head. "My apologies! It is not often that such a rare animal is brought into my store."

Wufei nodded and faced the man head on. "It is good you know something about our pet because he is the reason we came."

"Is he ill?" the man wrung his hands together worriedly.

"No. He is not actually ours but our… cousin's. His cousin, to be exact." Wufei gestured at Heero who scowled. "We received special permission from Headmaster Dumbledore to send the cub to our cousin at school. We require a way to get him there safely."

The others caught on with the plan. They would arrange transportation to get Snowball to Hogwarts, where Harry Potter was at, and then follow the transportation themselves. It was an easy way to get where they needed to be and ask as few questions as possible, thereby, being able to remain unnoticed. And no one would question whether or not the animal was Potter's, because it really was. All they would have to do is ask Harry if the tiger was his and he would say yes. Hopefully.

"Hmm…" the shopkeeper frowned. "That is a tough one. He's too big to be sending in a package like the other animals, and I have no way to get to Hogwarts. Never needed one."

The boys allowed some of their disappointment to be seen.

"I do, however, have a floo."

"Oh, we're sorry to hear that," Quatre sympathized. "Should you be with animals when you're sick?"

"Sick? Who's sick?" the man demanded. "No sick people are allowed in this store! Why, some of my creatures have no immune system at all! No, no, boy, I said I have a floo, not have the flu."

"My apologies, I misheard," Quatre offered hurriedly not understanding the man at all.

He rolled his eyes. "Muggleborns. Got nothing against them but sometimes…" he trailed off and shook his head. "Ah, not the best of times to be saying stuff like that. Anyway, if you all have some spare time, I can hook up my floo to Hogwarts and, with the Headmaster's permission, of course, send you all straight there. You can deliver the animal yourself and even surprise your cousin. He's one lucky boy to have such a rare animal."

"We wouldn't want to put you out," Quatre offered politely.

"Yeah we would," Duo interrupted loudly. "That sounds great."

"Excellent." The man clapped his hand enthusiastically. "Please, come to the back and sit."

He led them to the backroom room where it looked like employees took their breaks. A woman was bustling around, cleaning random things as she went.

"Oh? Who is this?" she asked, spying the newcomers.

"They're customers, dear. Will you make some tea for them?"

"Of course." She smiled brightly. "Right away."

"I need to contact someone for them, so see to their comfort." The man ordered leaving the room. His wife nodded and began making tea while humming happily. A minute later, she levitated a tray of tea and biscuits in front of the boys. They watched the floating tray with a weary eye but were careful not to let their discomfort at the magic show.

"Here you are!" She smiled. "And how would—oh my goodness!" she nearly dropped the tea as she spotted Snowball in Wufei's arms. "Is that a magical tiger?" Her reaction was much the same as her husband's had been. "He's gorgeous!"

"Thank you," Wufei answered not really sure what else to say.

"Oh! I simply _must_ have a picture!"

Before they could protest, the woman was running out the door, presumably to hunt down a camera. Wufei shifted uncomfortably and frowned down at the animal in his arms.

"I can't decide if this thing is a hindrance or help."

"Who would have thought he was such a rare creature?" Quatre said. "I'll bet Mr. Potter is very worried about him."

"Yeah well, at least we'll be getting to Hogwarts sooner than we expected," Duo commented. "But any idea what a floo is?"

The others all shook their heads. They would just have to wing it.

Fifteen minutes later, the shopkeeper's wife had taken five pictures before Wufei's temper ran out and he insisted that was enough, and now they stood before a fire place with an expectant shopkeeper.

"I spoke to the Headmaster and he has assured me he'll be there when you arrive," the man informed him.

"Thank you very much," Quatre said sincerely. "This means a great deal to us."

"Not at all. I never thought I would get to see such a rare animal. It is I who should be thanking you. Please, do come back again. I'll do whatever I can to assist you."

Quatre nodded and glanced at the others. They hadn't been able to puzzle out how to use the floo or why they were all gathered around a fireplace.

"Are you gentlemen leaving? Or was there something else?"

"Um… actually…"

"Oh!" the man smiled. "Yes, you must be worried about your tiger. Don't be, here." He reached up and grabbed some powder from a bowl on the mantel place. "Just be sure to have enough powder and hold onto him tightly. It might be smart to cover his eyes." He gestured Wufei into the ashes. "I'll send you, since your arms are full."

"…Very well," Wufei agreed. Where exactly was he going to send him? He was standing in a fireplace. A sudden thought of Wufei being sucked up through the chimney like Santa Clause popped into his head. That had better not be what was about to happen.

"Hogwarts!" the shopkeeper stated loudly and clearly. He threw the powder into the ashes and Wufei disappeared in a rush of green flames. Only years of training prevented the others from whipping out their guns and pointing them at the man. "There we go. Now for the rest of you." He held out the bowl, looking at them all expectantly.

Duo was the next one to go. He took a handful of powder and stood in Wufei's place. Heero looked distinctly unhappy with this but didn't argue. He watched Duo carefully, noting everything going on as Duo threw the powder and called out, "Hogwarts!" clearly. He disappeared in green flames just as Wufei had.

Trowa and Quatre exchanged looks and Trowa stepped up next. His voice was softer than the others but just as clear. After he disappeared, Quatre turned to Heero, who gave a nod of acknowledgment. The blonde said thank you one last time and also disappeared into the flames. Heero was the last to follow, grunting at the shopkeeper's cheery goodbye.

Heero did not like the feeling of spinning uncontrollably. His arms were pinned to his side and he had to close his eyes. He felt slightly nauseous and wanted the crazy ride to end immediately. When it did, Heero's legs locked tightly, preventing him from falling flat on his face. His gun was in his hand but hidden from sight behind his back as he took a defensive position while gathering his surroundings.

"Heero!" Duo called. Blue eyes snapped towards the voice. His friends were gathered together, all looking fine and safe, if not a little dirty. Heero allowed his posture to relax and turned to take in the office they now stood in.

The place was large and filled with all sorts of strange instruments. Heero had no idea what they did and made a mental note to stay far away from everything. A bird with bright red feathers rested on a perch by a desk. Its eyes pierced Heero's momentarily before turning away and pruning itself. Behind the desk stood a man with flamboyant purple robes and a beard so long it almost reached the floor. His blue eyes sparkled behind half-moon spectacles.

Determining there to be no immediate threat, Heero slipped his gun back into its hiding place and stepped forward. He took his position with his friends and turned to the man.

"Ah, now that everyone is here, welcome." The old man greeted them warmly with open arms and a smile. "I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of this school."

The boys nodded respectfully and Quatre took over the conversation, being the most diplomatic of them all.

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Quatre RaberbaWinner, my companions, Wufei Chang, Trowa Barton, Duo Maxwell, and Heero Yuy. We are Lady Une's operatives."

"Yes, I had assumed as much," Dumbledore replied eyes twinkling. "Please, have a seat." He drew his wand and conjured three more chairs so everyone could sit before sitting himself. The boys eyed the chairs warily and cautiously sat down, expecting them to disappear the moment they did. Heero was sure to sit in a seat that had not been conjured.

"Now, what can I do for you, gentlemen?" Dumbledore asked. "You'll have to forgive me, but I was under the impression you had your memories of Mr. Potter erased completely."

Five dark looks met his words. "We did. We have no memories of him or anything relating to him." Quatre explained coldly, a rare tone from the kind blonde. "But those who did this to us did not know of our other contacts. Lady Une explained what had happened and gave us permission to come here."

"I see." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "That was a very kind gesture. Especially since your services have ended."

"Is Potter still in danger?" Heero asked coldly.

Dumbledore glanced at him. "I'm afraid he will be in danger until this war is over."

"Then our mission is not complete. We were hired to protect him and so long as he is in danger, that is what we will do."

"You do not even remember him."

"Irrelevant. I do not abandon or fail missions."

Dumbledore couldn't help but smile at the determined teen. He reminded him so much of another dark haired boy he knew.

"Even so," Dumbledore's voice took on a firm tone. "I must insist you do not continue with this one. If you are worried, do not be. He is back in school now and well watched over by his peers and the staff."

"With all do respect, sir," Quatre butted in, "If he were that well protected, you would not have hired us in the first place."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled brightly. It was so rare for someone to question him and the old man found he rather enjoyed it when people did.

"Regardless, your presence is no longer required," Dumbledore answered. "Thank you for all you have done for Harry but your job is over now."

"If you don't mind me asking, sir," Quatre said, "But why are you so adamant that we leave?" His face took on a soft look. "I can tell you care and wish to protect him when you talk about Mr. Potter. So why are you so adverse to us continuing to do just that?"

"You are very perceptive, Mr. Winner."

"Quatre, please."

The man nodded. "Of course. You are correct, Quatre. I do care for Harry very much. He has been wronged too many times in his short life, and will continue to be so I'm afraid, for one not to feel protective." He leaned back in his chair. "It is because I care about him that I do not wish for you to be reunited."

"I'm afraid I do not understand," Quatre said.

"Imagine, if you will, how this would look from Harry's point of view. He has come to know the five of you over the last six months and come to care for you greatly. Even when speaking to me, he refused to divulge your names because he believes you would be upset over him sharing information without permission. I believed he referred to you as numbers: 01, 02, 03, 04, and 05."

Quatre was surprised. "That was very thoughtful of him."

"Yes, and now, imagine how it would be, to meet people you cared for very much after being led to believe you would never see them again. However, instead of a happy reunion, those people treat you as a stranger. They would not know you and would not understand why you are so happy to meet them again."

Quatre nodded slowly, understanding what Dumbledore was getting at. "I see your point. Our lack of memories would hurt Mr. Potter. We came here because we could not accept a failed mission; we did not come to protect Harry. And that fact would cause him sorrow."

Dumbledore nodded sadly. "I am sorry, gentlemen. What has been done to you is wholly unjust and unfair. But, and please, forgive my cold words, your feelings are not my concern. Harry's are."

Quatre traded looks with his friends. "We understand," he said. "Though this leaves us in a predicament."

"Oh?"

"Our mission in not complete, but it would be wrong to hurt Mr. Potter as well." Quatre frowned deeply in thought. "Even so… I think we will just have to risk it. At least he'll be alive to be hurt."

Dumbledore nodded his head. "I understand what you are saying, but I am going to remain firm on this. You may not see Harry for any reason."

"Then we will guard him from the shadows," Heero decided.

Once again, Dumbledore shook his head. "This is a school. No matter how skilled you are, you would not be able to follow Harry around and have no one notice you. I am sorry." The man stood, signaling an end to the conversation. "Thank you for your dedication but it is no longer needed. I will have a staff member escort you to Hogsmead village and arrange transportation for you back to the muggle world. It is best that you forget about the wizarding world altogether."

"Well that's rather bitchy of you," Duo snapped. "You're the shit-head who brought us here in the first place."

For once no one scolded Duo for his language. Dumbledore, to his credit, didn't look angry or offended. Actually, he just looked sad.

"I am sorry. I had been so desperate to get Harry away that I did not think of you at the time. I did not realize the Ministry would go to such extreme lengths to gain control over him. I am sorry for getting you boys mixed up in a world you don't belong in."

Now that hurt. The ex-pilots didn't have much in their lives but what they did have, they held close. It was rare for them to find a place they belonged and being told so bluntly to "get out" was rather hurtful.

There was a knock on the door and Dumbledore called for the person to enter. She was an older woman with graying hair pulled into a tight bun and lips pressed into a fine line. She waited patiently while Dumbledore stood and addressed the boys one last time.

"Even though it is against the law to allow muggles to know about us, I am not in the habit of modifying memories; I have never agreed with such brutal methods. Professor McGonagall will assist you in returning to your home."

The boys stood from their seats, noticing that the three chairs Dumbledore had conjured disappeared as they stood; a rather obvious sign that they had overstayed their welcome. As they turned to leave, Snowball bumped into Wufei's leg, tugging at his pants with sharp teeth.

Wufei looked to the Headmaster. "This pet belongs to Potter. Will you see it returned to him?"

"Of course," Dumbledore smiled at the tiger. The animal growled at him. "I will simply tell Harry that he found his way here."

Wufei nodded. "Very well."

They left without another word, following McGonagall down swirling steps into a castle-like corridor lit by torches hanging on the wall. They didn't speak with each other or the woman as they walked, silently deciding they would discuss their next move after the woman was gone.

They hadn't gone very far before the sound of claws clicking on stone echoed behind them. Wufei glanced over his shoulder and saw Snowball running towards them. He scowled when the animal skidded to stop and growled. It was like he was mad at them for leaving him behind.

"What is that?" McGonagall demanded.

"Mr. Potter's pet," Quatre explained. "We felt it would be best to return him."

McGonagall frowned deeply. "That type of animal is not allowed to be kept on schools grounds."

Suddenly, Snowball's ears perked up and he sniffed the air. He yipped very loudly and went running off around a corner. McGonagall sent a sharp look at the boys, obviously blaming them for the animal's behavior. It wasn't until they heard a loud shout that they realized what had happened.

"Snowball!" a voice called. "You're all right!"

Wufei felt a strange tug in his chest at the excited voice. If possible, McGonagall frowned even deeper and her expression turned into an outright scowl as a boy came running around the corner, Snowball safely held in his arms. He skidded to a halt in front of the group, his eyes wide and tainted with hope.

"You're here…" he whispered.

The ex-pilots recognized Harry Potter immediately, not because they remembered him, but because of the pictures from Lady Une and the tape of her office. He looked much the same now as he did in the recordings, though dark circles had been added under his eyes.

He looked at each boy, meeting their eyes happily. "Heero, Duo, Quatre, Trowa… Wufei." His smile grew with each name. "But how? I thought the Ministry erased your memories…"

A man stepped around the corner and four pairs of eyes snapped to him. Wufei, however, couldn't take his eyes off of Harry's, even though the boy had also turned to the newcomer, Wufei still stared.

Harry felt a thrill of fear as Kingsley Shacklebolt stepped around the corner. Heero would certainly recognize one of the men that had been there when the Ministry had attacked and freak out. But it hadn't been Kingsley's fault! The man was an Auror and had to follow orders. If he hadn't done what the Minister ordered that day, his position in the Order would have been revealed and his job jeopardized. There really hadn't been anything he could have done to help Harry or the others. He had managed to leave clues of Harry's presence behind, but beyond that, his hands had been tied.

Harry's fear was unjustified. As he whipped around to look at Heero, he noticed the older teen hadn't reacted to Kingsley as an enemy. He had stiffened and his hand hovered casually over where he hid his gun, but that was it. Kingsley was nothing more than an unknown entity, a possible threat. Heero didn't remember. And if Heero didn't remember, none of them did.

Harry looked sadly at them all. "You don't remember," he stated more than asked.

Wufei felt a strong sense of anger at the boy's suddenly defeated face. He wanted to find the bastards who stole his memories more than ever and beat the shit out of them. The grief in those green eyes was heart-wrenching. He had been so hopeful a moment ago and now there was nothing but resignation.

Quatre shook his head, rubbing at his heart. He could feel Harry's grief as he realized the truth. "I'm sorry, but no." This was what Dumbledore had been worried about. Quatre could sense Harry's openness and felt his sadness as if it were his own.

"But then, what are you doing here?" Harry asked forcing himself to remain calm. He glanced at Wufei briefly but found he couldn't look at him for long.

"We have come to complete our mission," Heero stated.

"Mission?" Harry repeated. He half-smiled in exasperation. "Of course, we wouldn't want to tarnish your perfect record, Heero."

"Yes, because Heero failing a mission would be the first sign of the apocalypse," Duo teased. He could also see the hurt in Harry's eyes. Duo was pretty sure that all five of them were angrier now about having their memories stolen from them. It was not only them who had been hurt but this young boy as well.

Harry smiled and answered without thinking. "No, that would be the second. The first would be getting you to take one seriously."

"Hey!" Duo exclaimed while Harry laughed. Even his friends could feel their mouths twitching into smiles.

It hit them then, how much of their memories they had lost. It wasn't only six months' worth of stuff; it was an entire person as well. A person who they had obviously gotten close enough too that they were able to joke freely with them. A rare thing for the socially challenged teens. They had forgotten who this person was, what they had done together to become so close, even why and how they had met in the first place. It was like meeting a stranger but the stranger knew everything about you and you knew nothing of them.

Harry seemed to realize that what he had said made them uncomfortable because his smile slipped from his face.

"We should get going." The black man who had followed Harry interrupted the sad reunion. "If we do not show up on time, they will come looking for us."

Harry nodded sadly. "What are you planning to do?" he asked, looking at Heero.

It was McGonagall who answered. "They will be escorted back to the muggle world."

"Or," Duo interrupted cheerfully, "we'll stay here and finish the mission. You never know with us. We're sneaky."

Harry smoothed his laughter as McGonagall glared angrily at the braided teen.

"Mr. Potter…" Kingsley prompted.

Harry glanced at him briefly. "Professor…"

"Oh for the sake of Merlin," McGonagall snapped. "Mr. Potter, get to your meeting before the Minister comes looking for you. I will deal with these boys."

Harry looked torn between doing as he was told and staying with his newly found friends. It was Quatre's prodding that moved him.

"Go on." The blonde smiled. "We'll take care of ourselves."

"If you're sure…"

"He's sure, Mr. Potter," McGonagall snapped. "Now hurry."

Kingsley placed a hand on his shoulder and nudged Harry past the boys. Harry shook the hand off and hurried towards Trowa.

"Here." He carefully handed the tall teen Snowball. "They'll take him away from me if they see him." Snowball whined as Harry stepped away. "Oh, don't give me that. Trowa loves to spoil you and you know it." He petted the animal once more. "Be good. Leave Wufei and Heero alone." Snowball yipped at him, licking his hand.

"Come along, Mr. Potter," Kingsley urged. Harry rolled his eyes.

"I'm coming." He looked once more at his friends and couldn't help but smile. If only he could stay with them. If it wasn't for the fact he had a meeting with the damn Minister, he would have dropped everything and gone with them. But if he didn't show, the Ministry would use the tracking spell on his wrists to find him. Harry waved at them once more and followed Kingsley away, glancing over his shoulder every few steps.

By the time they reached the stone statue, the five teens and McGonagall were out of sight. The brief moment of joy and relief Harry had felt was gone now, replaced by worry and slight fear. Harry turned when Kingsley placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure those boys will be well taken care of," the man offered soothingly.

Harry shrugged the arm away, not wanting any comfort. "You're lucky Heero didn't recognize you. He probably would have shot first and asked questions later. Gobstoppers."

The Gargoyle leapt aside after Harry said the password and the familiar winding stairs appeared. Kingsley and Harry rode them to the top and entered Dumbledore's office without knocking, just as the Minister of Magic himself appeared from the floo. Harry's body was stiff and tense and he said nothing as two more people appeared from the fireplace after the Minister.

"Gentlemen," Rufus greeted. "I'm glad to see everyone is here."

Harry glared and said nothing. Dumbledore, while normally so polite and receptive no matter what the occasion, was not so jolly. His eyes were not twinkling and he made no effort to hide his displeasure at the situation. If the Minister noticed the hostility towards himself, he ignored it very well.

"This is Gawain Robards, Head of the Auror Department and Pius Thincknesse, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." Rufus introduced the other two men. He then noticed Kingsley standing behind Harry. "Thank you, Mr. Shacklebolt. You may go now."

The black man nodded, trading a brief look with Dumbledore and patting Harry one last time on the shoulder comfortingly. He was sure to close the door tightly behind him as he left. Harry moved and took a seat on the couch, refusing to look at anyone in the room.

"Well then, I suppose we should get started," Scrimgeore said. He took a vial of potion from Robards. "I trust you received a complete dissection of what is in this potion and what it will do?"

"Yeah, torture me," Harry spoke up bitterly. He met the Minister's gaze unflinchingly.

"It is not meant to torture you, Mr. Potter. It is meant to use a unique situation to our advantage. If we can find out what Voldemort is doing before hand, countless lives will be saved."

"And if you destroy my mind in the process, it's not a big deal, right? 'Cause, after all, I'm just the boy-who-lived. My entire life should be devoted to stopping Voldemort, regardless of the consequences."

"Fighting to protect the wizarding world is a noble cause—" Rufus began, but Harry turned away, stopping his tirade. He didn't want to listen to how what was about to happen was a good thing.

"Let's just get this over with, please."

Dumbledore moved to take the potion but the Minister shook his head. "We need to make sure enough gets into his system. I will do it."

He moved towards Harry and handed him the vial. Harry bit his lip but forced himself to reach up and take the vial, drinking the potion. Strangely, it tasted very good, like chocolate milk. Harry loved chocolate milk. He felt his body becoming weak and someone else took the vial and helped him finish drinking it. By the time he had swallowed everything, Harry's body was like mush and his muscle's had no tension. He couldn't lift his arm if he tried. Hands gently lowered him into a lying position on the couch.

"This was expected," a voice spoke from far away and Harry couldn't discern whose it was. He felt nothing, not even light. It was like… he was just a blob of flesh sitting on a couch. He had no control over his body or feeling anywhere.

"Is it working?"

"I can't tell."

"You will know when it does."

Harry could hear the words being spoken but his mind was too slow to understand them.

"AHHH!"

Harry suddenly heard the most awful screaming and wanted nothing more than to cover his ears from the screeching sound. It took him a long moment to realize that the screaming was coming from him. It came from his own throat. Once he realized that, the pain registered and his slow mind realized why he was screaming.

It was worse than any Voldemort-vision he had ever had. It was like taking ten crucios at once while someone dumped his body into a fire and laughed as he was burned alive. It felt like his skin was being peeled off, bit by bit, and someone was dragging a dry rope over the exposed muscle tissue. He was dimly aware that he was screaming and writhing in agony but it barely registered in his mind.

Then, just as quickly as the pain had started, it stopped. Harry was breathing hard and sobbing in relief. His scar was burning now but it was nowhere near as horrible as the other pain had been. In the back of his mind, Harry could still feel that his body was twitching and he was whimpering. But now his mind was detached from that pain.

Harry looked around, realizing he was somewhere dark. There was no light to see by but, strangely, Harry didn't need any light. He somehow felt where he was and what was around him. It was like his mind had become his eyes.

Harry stood on shaky legs and looked down at himself. He was completely naked. He shifted uncomfortably but resigned himself to the embarrassing state as he had no idea where to get any clothes or where the ones he had been wearing were. He rubbed at his tear streaked face, trying to dry his eyes.

With nothing better to do, Harry began walking. The direction wasn't all that important and he didn't choose it for any particular reason. Really, all he did was move forward. Harry had no idea what was going on and really wished it would end soon. He didn't like this place of complete darkness. This… endless nothing. If he didn't get out of here quick, he'd lose his mind. Nothing could stay sane long in this empty place.

Harry wasn't sure how long he wandered around. He couldn't keep track of time wherever he was. Eventually, something happened. Harry began to feel like he wasn't so alone. He stopped his aimless wandering and waited, sensing that the presence was coming to him.

As it got closer, Harry was filled with a sense of foreboding. His body began to shake and it wasn't because he was naked. His scar burst with pain, making Harry flinch. Suddenly, he realized exactly who the presence was. But there was nowhere for him to run in this endless dark. Nowhere to hide. So Harry had no choice but to brace himself and hope for the best. Even if it was hard to hope in such a desolate place.

Within minutes, a shape began to form from the darkness. It was nothing more than a black silhouette at first, but slowly gained color and defining features. However, as Harry watched, it was not the Lord Voldemort Harry knew that appeared. The person that appeared was Tom Riddle; the man who had become Voldemort.

"Ah, welcome, Harry Potter."

The evil radiated off him in _waves_. Harry felt like he was drowning in it; being consumed by it. It was suffocating. He could barely think straight and stepped away warily.

Tom smirked.

"I was wondering when you would come." He spoke casually and with confidence.

Harry managed to find his voice. "You know?"

"I have spies everywhere, Harry. I made this place especially for when you would arrive."

Harry shook his head. The only people who knew about what the Minister planned to do were Dumbledore, himself, Ron and Hermione, the Minister, and those two other people he had brought with him. Harry knew his friends weren't the culprits and neither was Dumbledore. He didn't think the Minister would betray him either; after all, what would be the point? He already had control of Harry and the entire Ministry of Magic. Betraying Harry wouldn't get him anywhere.

So that just left the other two. One or both of them could have turned him over to Voldemort. Harry swore he would find out who did it and reveal their true traitorous colors.

"Oh, don't be shy now," Tom laughed. It was a cruel sound that made Harry feel as though thousands of roaches were crawling under his skin. He shivered and suddenly remembered his naked state.

Despite himself, Harry blushed. He placed his hands over his privates futilely. Tom laughed again, enjoying Harry's discomfort. Harry glared, wondering why he got clothes but Harry didn't.

"It is because this is my mind," Tom answered the unspoken question. "In my mind, anything I want, happens."

Swallowing, Harry glared. "So you want me to be naked?" he demanded not allowing his voice to shake. "I knew you were a bastard, didn't realize you were a pervert too."

Tom suddenly disappeared. Harry started in shock. He felt someone appear directly behind him and whipped around so fast he stumbled, falling to the hard floor. Harry glared up at the man, refusing to show how frightened he really was. He was a Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake! It didn't matter if he was afraid or not; he was not going to let his fear get the better of him!

"This is my mind, Potter," Tom growled. "You are whatever I wish you to be."

Harry opened his mouth to shout at him but a dark tendril appeared from the floor, curling around his throat. It squeezed just hard enough to prevent him from talking but not hard enough to choke him. Other tendrils grew and bound his wrist and legs to the floor. Harry struggled, but it was useless.

Tom knelt down between Harry's pinned legs. The boy glared at him defiantly, trying to swallow past the cord holding him so he could, at the very least, curse. Tom smirked cruelly and grabbed Harry's chin, forcing Harry's face close to his.

"Now…" he whispered. A shiver ran down Harry's spine. "Let's talk about my next attack, shall we?" He leaned in close to whisper something in Harry's ear.

The darkness faded and Harry woke up screaming.

**A/N: So this is why the Ministry wanted Harry: to exploit his Voldemort connection! And Harry has seen the guys and found out that they don't remember him.**

**I loved writing creepy Voldemort scene. I love writing creepy scenes in general. I hope you liked it too.**

**Oh man! I wrote an awesome ending to this story! It's super great and I love it! Now if only I could fill all the stuff in the middle...**


	12. Please Remember Me

**Chapter Twelve: Please Remember Me**

Harry slowly opened his eyes, groaning at his pounding headache. Something cool was pressed to his lips and Harry turned away. The very thought of ingesting something made him want to throw up.

"It's okay, Harry," Hermione's voice met his ears. "This will help with your head. Come on now…"

The vial was back and Harry forced himself to drink it. He took a deep breath, coughing a couple of times. Everything was blurry so he reached out blindly for his glasses.

"Here, Harry," Ron said. Glasses were rested on his face and the walls of the Hospital Wing came into focus. Harry looked around, seeing Ron on his left and Hermione on his right. He smiled at both of them and slowly sat up, the potion already taking effect to soothe his head.

"What happened?" he asked.

Ron and Hermione traded looks. "You don't remember?"

"Not really…" Harry thought about it. "The last thing I remember is drinking that potion and then…" The memory of the pain was so intense Harry could almost feel it again. That horrible burning sensation and the emptiness… an endless place of darkness.

"There was something strange," he said, a shiver running down his spine. "It was like after all the pain faded away I was… somewhere."

"Somewhere?"

"I don't know. I can't remember much. I just remember the feeling of being somewhere dark and empty. I remember hating it. But that's it." He looked at his friends. "That's all I remember. Why? What do you two know? And how did I get to the Hospital Wing?"

"Dumbledore brought you after the Minister left," Hermione explained. "You've been asleep for almost two days. It's Tuesday night."

Harry's eyes widened. "You're joking!"

"From what Dumbledore told us, you had a fit. Like what normally happens during your visions, only a thousand times worse. It lasted ten minutes before you woke up on your own. You told them something, Dumbledore wouldn't say what, and passed out. He brought you straight here afterwards."

Harry shook his head. "I honestly don't remember what I said. I don't remember anything except being in pain."

"Oh Harry!" Hermione whispered. She took his hand in hers. "Don't worry, we'll figure something out. We'll find a way to get you out of this—"

"Oh Merlin!" Harry suddenly exclaimed.

"What? What is Harry?" Ron demanded. "Did you remember something?"

"No, yes." Harry shook his head. "The guys I told you about! 01 and them, they're here!"

"Your bodyguards?"

"Yes! I saw them on the way to the meeting!" Harry exclaimed slowly letting a smile spread over his face. "All five of them were here. McGonagall was taking them somewhere and even Snowball was with them!" his smiled faded. "But… they didn't remember me."

Hermione and Ron frowned. "How did they get here then? And why did they come?"

"The Ministry didn't do a good enough job covering their tracks." Harry shrugged. "Heero's always got a back door. When the Ministry was changing things, they must have missed something and Heero was able to figure it out. They probably came here to finish the mission, even if they don't remember me." Harry's smile was tainted with sadness. "At least I know they're alright."

"Oh Harry…"

"Wait a second," Ron interrupted, "You said the Ministry left clues behind, which is why these guys are here now?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I assume that's what happened."

"Harry!" Ron exclaimed making both Hermione and Harry jump. "Do you know what they do to muggles who don't stay out the wizarding world when they have no business being here?"

"No…" Harry and Hermione exchanged looks.

"They arrest them! In most cases, they turn them over to the muggle authorities who know about us and they put them in muggle jails. But in the more extreme or dangerous cases, they'll throw them in Azkaban."

Hermione gasped and Harry's eyes went wide. "They can't do that!" they yelled together.

Ron looked taken aback by the dual shout. "Hey I'm just repeating the law…"

"There's no chance in _hell_ I'll let anyone send my friends to Azkaban!" Harry declared loudly. "I don't care what the law says!"

"Calm down, Harry. I'm sure that won't happen. The fact that McGonagall was with them and Dumbledore didn't turn them over to the Ministry proves that they won't be caught. I'm sure the Headmaster and Professor are going to keep an eye on them."

"Oh please, those five will give them the slip so fast the Professor won't know what hit her." Harry threw the blanket off and prepared to get up.

"Harry! You're still sick!"

"I've got to find them. I need to warn them." The very idea of his friends being forced into Azkaban, with all their horrid memories of the war, made Harry nausea with worry. He couldn't let them be tortured that way, especially not on his behalf. He had to find them.

"Harry, it's Tuesday night." Hermione tried not letting him get past her. "You saw them Sunday. They're already gone by now."

Harry stopped trying to leave and thought for a moment. Whatever had happened to them, there was no way Harry would find them now. He sat down on the bed and frowned. They wouldn't have gone too far because Harry left Snowball with Trowa. But the fact that they weren't in the Hospital Wing with him meant they weren't at Hogwarts anymore. When Harry had been sick one of them had been by his bedside at all times, regardless.

"We'll ask Professor McGonagall about it tomorrow," Hermione promised. "You need more sleep."

Harry had no intention of sleeping but agreed to anyways to avoid a fight with Hermione. It wasn't long before Madam Pomfrey came in and shooed his friends away. Harry said his goodbyes and waited until the nurse was back in her office for the night. Once he was sure she wasn't coming out again, Harry threw off his blankets and, as quietly as he could, snuck out of the Hospital Wing.

His first stop was the Gryffindor tower. Harry had enough experience sneaking around the castle to get there without being caught. He slipped into his dorm, pausing to make sure everyone was asleep before going to his bed. He hurriedly threw on some warm clothes and his scarf and dug the Marauders Map and his invisibility cloak out of his trunk. Harry slipped out of the dorm and hurried to the common room.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he whispered.

Dots and lines of ink appeared on the paper everywhere and Harry unfolded it easily. He glanced at all the little dots, noticing almost of all them gathered into four places; the dorms where the students slept. Harry's eyes scanned the map, noting who was on patrol and where.

After making sure his path was clear, Harry hurried from the tower. He made it all the way to the secret passage to Hogsmead; tapping the witch and muttering the password. The passageway opened easily and Harry jumped in, sliding down the small tunnel.

He lit his wand and ran to the end. At the trapdoor, Harry paused to listen. He couldn't hear anything and slowly lifted the wood up. There were voices coming from the other room, but they were quiet. Harry shoved the trapdoor open and climbed out. He put the wood back and slipped his cloak on.

Carefully, Harry maneuvered around the cellar of Hondukes and up into the main store area. There were very few people hanging about because of the late hour. The clerk was sitting with her last three customers, talking and eating candy with them. Harry slipped by, unnoticed under his cloak. He opened the door and hurried onto the cold street.

It had started snowing, the ground becoming covered with the pretty white flakes. Harry frowned, hoping no one would see his footprints. He figured since it was snowing they would be covered up quickly anyway. Harry took a deep breath and looked around.

There was only one hotel in Hogsmead and it was pretty small. Harry doubted his friends would go somewhere so obvious. Harry closed his eyes and thought hard. He couldn't go banging on doors looking for them and he didn't know where else to search. It never even crossed his mind that the boys might have left already; Heero did _not_ leave missions unfinished.

Harry's eyes snapped open as an idea popped into his head. He grinned and took off down the street, pulling his fake wand out on the way. Even though he didn't need the wand, it was still habit to pull one out. Hagrid had taught them a spell last year that gave off the scent of fresh meat and was used to attract animals. Snowball had an excellent sense of smell, even by animal standards. And if Harry knew his pet, he knew the little guy would never be able to resist the smell of fresh meat. This would definitely attract Snowball and when Snowball sensed food, nothing short of a full stomach could stop him from coming to get it. He just hoped Trowa hadn't fed the cub recently.

Harry began wondering around the town, casting the spell every so often. His hands were starting to go numb. He had forgotten gloves. If he didn't find the guys soon, Harry would have to go back to Hogwarts empty handed. He turned down the street, ending up in front of the Hogs Head bar. Harry glanced at it, remembering the only time he had been in there. It was to form an illegal group against the Ministry. Harry smiled to himself. He loved the D.A.

As Harry began walking away, he heard the sound of claws clicking against wood. He stopped and turned, looking around. The door to the Hogs Head pub shook as Harry heard something hit it. He heard a loud whining noise followed by curses and footsteps. Harry couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"What are you doing?" a voice yelled from inside. Harry didn't recognize it. It sounded old and coarse.

"How should we know? He just went nuts!" Duo's voice yelled back.

The door to the pub opened and Snowball came charging into the snow. The animal stopped in shock before turning around and running back into the safety of the pub. Harry had forgotten he was scared of the snow. Duo stuck his head out the door and looked around in confusion.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked the tiger cub.

Harry slipped the invisibility cloak off his head. "Sorry, my fault."

Duo nearly shot him. If he hadn't had such cat-like reflexes, Harry would have a bullet in his head right now. But Harry didn't care about that; he knew Duo was good enough to not shoot. He simply smiled happily.

Snowball seemed to forget about his fear of the snow and ran to Harry, jumping into his arms. Harry laughed and held his pet close to him, laughing as he licked his face.

"Hey," Duo called. Harry looked up at him, relieved to see no trace of the gun. "You realize there's only half of you?"

Harry blinked and looked down at himself. Half the invisibility cloak was still on so his stomach and one leg were still hidden. Harry laughed. "Sorry."

"You dumb-ass kids!" the same coarse voice from earlier yelled. "What are you doing standing out here?" A man appeared behind Duo and Harry recognized him as the owner of the pub. "Standing out here for the world to see! What do you think you're doing?"

Harry shrugged. "Snuck out." He cooed at Snowball.

"All right! We got a rebel kid." Duo laughed. "Now get in here before something bad happens."

Harry followed Duo into the pub, setting Snowball down on the floor and taking off the rest of the invisibility cloak. He folded it as he looked around the pub. It was just as dirty and dusty as he remembered. The owner was still old and ragged, staring at Harry in annoyance.

"Sorry for bothering you so late at night, sir," Harry offered politely. The man grunted, leaving the room and grumbling under his breath.

"Don't mind him. He's been like that since we got here."

"And when was that?" Harry asked eagerly. "And does anyone know? _Please_ tell me no one knows."

"Calm down. No one knows. Now let's go upstairs and talk."

Harry dutifully followed the braided teen upstairs, calling for Snowball to follow. Duo led him to a hall with three doorways. One led to a bathroom and the other two to bedrooms. Duo led him to the closest room, so Harry figured the one at the end of the hall belonged to the pub owner. Harry frowned when he realized he didn't know the man's name.

Duo announced himself in his usual loud manner, shouting as he flung the door open. The room was small and dirty, definitely not a place suitable for five teenagers. Trowa and Quatre were curled together on a bed, Heero was poking at his laptop with a scowl on his face sitting on his and Duo's shared bed, and Wufei was reclining in a chair near the window. The only other piece of furniture in the room was an unused dresser with a broken mirror.

"Look who snuck out to come see us," Duo called, shutting the door tightly behind them.

The four boys looked up and stared at Harry in surprise. Harry just waved, smiling a little shyly. He was so glad to see them again and that they were all okay. He had been so worried they would be caught and arrested or that their minds would have been hurt by the memory charm. But all five of the boys were still just as strong and healthy as Harry remembered. He knew he shouldn't have worried. Like Wufei always said, they could take care of themselves.

Quatre was the first to speak. He sat up, allowing Trowa to do the same. "Hello, Mr. Potter," he offered politely.

Harry didn't give him a chance to continue with the pleasantries. "Harry."

The blonde smiled and nodded. "Very well. Hello Harry."

"Hullo," Harry muttered. They all fell quiet for a moment and, suddenly, Harry was rather self-conscious. All five boys were staring at him intensely, scrutinizing his every move. He shifted and ran his hand through his hair nervously.

"How did you find us?" Heero asked first, already thinking of a new hiding place for them. If this boy could track them down, so could others.

"Snowball. I know a spell that will attract animals who like fresh raw meat and just kept casting it until he came running."

"No one wonder the thing went nuts," Duo grumbled glaring at the happy cub. "I thought it had to piss."

"Snow really does cause a lot of trouble but he doesn't mean to." He knelt and petted his pet's head. A snort came from Wufei's direction and Harry glanced at the teen. Harry almost expected him to look different; it seemed like years since they had last been together. He quickly looked away.

"It is a security risk," Heero stated.

Harry laughed, nodding his head. "Yes, yes he is." He sat crossed-legged on the floor and Snowball climbed into his lap, purring in content. "But he listens when you tell him no."

"Does not!" Duo exclaimed. "I've told him no plenty of times!"

"…" Harry leaned over and whispered something into the animal's ear. Snowball sat up and stared at Duo with the softest, most loving baby-eyes in the world. Duo and Quatre barely contained themselves from cooing. Harry smiled. "That's why he doesn't listen to you." He pointed at the other three. "He listens to them." Harry laughed at Duo's annoyed face. "Thanks for taking care of him for me."

"Sure." Duo grumbled. "He seemed to know us."

Harry made a sound of agreement. "I found him a couple weeks after I started staying with you. After he almost killed himself, Wufei let me keep him."

"…If you say so. Now, speaking of the last six months, what the hell happened?"

Harry blinked. He had been expecting this and prepared everything he was going to say ahead of time. He even did his absolute best to remember the smallest details, since Heero really liked those.

Taking a deep breath, Harry began to explain. "Well we met almost six months ago when you guys moved into a new safe-house across the street from my relative's place…"

It took hours to get the whole story out about who Harry was, how they'd met, and why they were protecting them. Harry then had to explain how the Ministry found them (Heero glared at Snowball at that point) and what the Ministry had done. Harry felt wiped out by the end of the story, and he hadn't even begun explaining the personal aspects of what had happened.

Once he stopped talking, the five fell silent in contemplation. Harry had given enough details and information that they didn't have too many questions. All of what Harry told them was surprising, but believable. What really threw their minds was the fact that they couldn't remember any it. Some of these things were major events that were not to be taken lightly, and definitely not something to be forgotten.

"Damn it!" Duo cursed to himself sitting back on the bed next to Heero. "How do we get our memories back?"

Harry shrugged, looking away.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Memory charms are really tricky," Harry explained quietly. "You can't just remove them. The only time I've heard of them being removed is when the person was tortured so horribly they were forced to remember." Harry glanced up and noticed the cautiously speculative looks on the boy's faces. "No!" he yelled loudly surprising them. "I don't care how much pain you guys have been trained to take or if you've been hurt or shot during the war or even if Heero blew himself up once! That is not an option so stop thinking about it!"

The five stared at him.

Harry's face turned red as he realized what he had just done. "And—and besides," he amended, a little nicer, "forcing your mind to remember something in that way destroys it. You'd get your memory back but you'd lose your sanity in return. So, it's not a smart thing to do at all."

"How the hell did you know what we were thinking?" Duo asked quietly.

Harry froze. You always knew you were in trouble when Duo was quiet. "Uh… I just assumed."

"Okay." Duo shook his head, his voice becoming firm and slightly angry. "I'm gonna say this once and you'd better remember it. You don't get to say, 'I guess' or 'I told you before.' We don't remember _shit_. Right now, you're the only one who knows the full story about the last six months. We don't know what we told you about ourselves or if we even _liked_ you." Harry flinched at that.

"In other words, Harry," Quatre interrupted. "Please do not assume anything. If there is something you feel we should know, then tell us. Anything important, or even anything unimportant, you need to say it."

Harry nodded. They had a point. Harry was the only one who remembered anything. All that had happened between the six was in his memory only. They didn't remember saving Harry's life and defending him from his abusive family or the rare nights when everyone was home and they would all watch some movie Duo picked out. Trowa didn't remember teaching Harry how to train Snowball. Quatre didn't remember all the meals they cooked together. Duo didn't remember all the jokes they had come up with and played on the others. Heero didn't remember letting Harry watch him as he worked, being amused at how the teen stared at him in amazement for his physical prowess. And Wufei…

Wufei didn't know anything. He didn't remember all the nights Harry had crawled next to him. He didn't remember all their fights back and forth that were half-teasing and half-serious. He didn't remember stopping Harry from jumping into the fire after Snowball or how adorably awkward he was trying to comfort him about it. He didn't know how he had pulled Harry into his lap unexpectedly and ordered him to sleep. Wufei didn't remember them arguing and then kissing… and now Harry would never get an explanation behind _that_ move.

"I know," Harry whispered. "I'm sorry."

Quatre could feel the teen's grief and rubbed at his heart. Trowa put an arm around his shoulder and squeezed comfortingly.

"So what _do_ you know about us?" Duo asked suddenly.

Once again Harry had to reiterate everything he could remember, this time about their personal lives. The five boys were rather surprised by how much they had told him and made disbelieving sounds at some of the stories he told. They remembered the comedy movie Duo had made them watch one night and that everyone had fallen asleep while it was still going. They didn't remember Harry being there or him getting blankets for everyone after they fell asleep. But then, where had the blankets come from? Most the stories Harry mentioned they remembered just fine, they just didn't remember Harry being in them.

However, despite Harry's promise to tell them everything, he couldn't help but keep some things secret. He refused to divulge the secret of him and Wufei kissing or that they shared a bed. It was something personal, between him and Wufei only. Wufei would only be pissed and embarrassed if Harry said anything, so he kept quiet. It wasn't like he was going to remember anyways.

By the time the five stopped grilling Harry for answers, the teen was forcing his eyes to stay open and not to fall asleep. He was still recovering from the mental attack the Minister forced him through and if he didn't get back to school soon, someone was going to notice his absence, if they hadn't already.

Except Harry couldn't bring himself to say something; he wanted to stay where he was. With his friends. With these five boys who had helped him so much. Harry felt safe here. Voldemort couldn't get him, the Minister couldn't find him, and Wufei was there to keep the nightmares away whether he knew he was doing it or not. Where he was now was exactly where Harry wanted to be.

A watch beeped and Duo peered at his wrist. "Three in the morning." He announced. "I'm beat."

"You can't be allowed out this late," Quatre commented.

Harry shrugged, rubbing his face to try and wake up. "Probably not. I'll just sneak back into the Hospital Wing before anyone wakes up."

"Hospital Wing?"

Harry stiffened, cursing himself. He hadn't mentioned anything about what the Minister was doing or that he had been sick. These five in "mother-hen" mode were hard to deal with.

"I had a headache," Harry said slowly. "My school's medi-witch is really into making people stay for every little thing."

Quatre frowned. "You're lying."

"I am not."

"Then you're not telling the whole truth."

Harry wondered how he could get around that one. Even if Quatre couldn't sense lies, Harry sucked at telling them.

Before Harry could think of something to say, he felt heat gathering on his wrists. Confused, Harry shoved his sleeves back and looked. The asterisks on his wrist were glowing a pale white and felt warm. Harry's eyes widened and he cursed loudly, jumping to his feet.

"Oh shit!" Harry began scrambling around for the clothing he had taken off while speaking. "I have to go!" he found his coat and shoved it on. "I'm sorry! I'll try and come back later." He threw his scarf around his neck, not taking the time to tie it. "Oh! And don't let anyone see you guys! Muggles aren't allowed in this world so if you get caught, they'll arrest you, which—Snowball!—is bad." Snowball slunk out of Trowa's lap with Harry's shoe in his mouth. Harry took it quickly and shoved it on.

"What are you freaking out about all of a sudden?" Duo called just as Harry picked up the Marauder's Map and his invisibility cloak.

Harry half-smiled, already heading to the door. He held up his wrists, showing the glowing marks on them. "Tracking spell." He said simply and then was gone.

* * *

Harry thanked Merlin the spell on his wrist only said where he was and not where he'd been. By the time some pimply faced junior Ministry worker found him, Harry was back on Hogwarts grounds, near the forbidden forest. Honeydukes was closed so Harry had to run along the path connecting the school and village, trying to keep his cloak covering himself as much as possible.

The worker had taken him straight back to the Hospital Wing where Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey, and the Minister were waiting for him. Madam Pomfrey had called Albus when she'd come to check on Harry and found him missing. Apparently Albus had a way to find students anywhere on school grounds, much like the Marauder's Map. When he had activated it to locate Harry, the Ministry had been notified and the person on duty came immediately. When the junior worker found out Harry was missing, he called the Minister without hesitation. Dumbledore was not pleased, to say the least. Not only was he disappointed with Harry for running off, but he had had no idea the Minister was tracking his searching devices.

After being checked over by Madam Pomfrey, scolded by everyone present, checked over again by Madam Pomfrey, given one week's worth of detentions, and checked over one last time by Madam Pomfrey, Harry was finally allowed to go to sleep. The Minister and his assistant left and Harry crawled back into the hospital bed.

Dumbledore had convinced Madam Pomfrey that Harry wasn't going to run away again and sent her back to her room. The old man turned to the teen, his eyes staring at him sadly.

"I'm sorry," Harry began, "I just wanted to be alone."

Dumbledore sat on the bed at Harry's feet. "I know those boys are still here somewhere."

Harry's eyes widened as he stared at Dumbledore.

The old man smiled, some of the twinkle returning. "And I'm sure you know where they're hiding after tonight."

"I feel the need to remind you, sir, that you were the one who placed me with them in the first place."

Dumbledore chuckled pleasantly. "I'm well aware, Mr. Potter. It would seem I chose some very devote bodyguards. They remember nothing, correct?"

Harry nodded. "Is there anyway to get their memories back, Professor?"

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "Not without terrible risk to their minds. The mind is a very mysterious thing, Harry. It is not something to be tampered with lightly."

"I understand," Harry said, hanging his head. "I guess it just kinda… hurt. They didn't even bat an eye."

This was what Dumbledore had been worried about. Losing his friends was a painful experience for Harry, the old wizard did not doubt that. But at least he would have the memories and comfort of knowing they were alright. Having them here was very painful. It was like rubbing salt on the open wound. Harry knew his friends didn't remember him; he didn't need to have his face rubbed in it. Dumbledore had hoped to avoid this by preventing the boys from reuniting but it seemed his efforts were in vain.

"It is hard, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore agreed sadly. "But there is nothing that can be done. Though it is difficult, you need to do what is best for them."

Harry looked at him confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Harry." Dumbledore rested a hand on his shoulder soothingly, "Please don't misunderstand me. I am not saying you should not be friends with these five, but they can not stay in our world. They are muggles and if the Ministry catches them, their fate would be a tragic one. They are not safe in the magical world."

"You want me to send them away."

"I am not asking you to break the friendship, just send them somewhere safe."

Harry looked down at the blankets of his bed. "I understand, sir. I'll take care of it."

"I'm sorry, my dear boy. It seems in my effort to protect you, I have only caused you more pain."

"It's not your fault," Harry said. "It's the Ministry's and Voldemort's."

Dumbledore smiled, though it did not reach his eyes. He stood from the bed, patting Harry once more on the shoulder. "Get some rest, Harry. You've had a trying night."

"Goodnight, sir." Harry sighed lying down and pulling the covers over his head. He heard the headmaster leave, gently closing the door behind him.

Peeking out from the blankets, Harry sat up with a sigh. He had been so excited about seeing his friends again, he hadn't really processed the danger they were in. They didn't know how to fight wizards, a fact that had been proven not only when the Ministry stole their memories, but also when Heero and Trowa had fought Death Eaters on Privet Drive.

The next chance he got, Harry would sneak out and let them know everything was okay. Their "mission" was over and they didn't need to protect him anymore. It would be safer for them if they went back to the muggle world and forgot all about the wizarding one.

**A/N: And Harry's hero-complex comes into play. A lot of people are pissy with Dumbledore right now and this chapter probably won't help that. But Dumbledore will redeem himself! I don't know if it's next chapter and in two but we'll see. So yeah… see you next week.  
**


	13. Let's Try This Again

**A/N: A lot of people were wondering about Harry not being able to remember anything about the potion or what Tom said to him. Guys, it's a mystery! You've gotta read the story and find out. Hehe. But honestly, I'll go into more detail with the potion and stuff soon.**

**Chapter Thirteen: Let's Try This Again**

Harry barely got a couple hours of sleep that night but it didn't matter to him. Ever since he had stopped sleeping next to Wufei, the nightmares had come back full force. He was back to his habit of working himself to exhaustion before allowing himself to succumb to sleep. Hermione and Ron were worried but Harry brushed their concerns aside easily.

Classes were hard with Harry being so far behind in his school work. Hermione had him doing homework and makeup work every night after dinner. With her help, he was very slowly catching up. The D.A. was really the only bright part of the week. Harry enjoyed teaching the students and almost everyone picked things up fast. They had started teaching the Reducto curse and were making plans to start combining some of the curses they already taught to make an effective battle strategy.

Thursday came and brought with it very good and bad news. The entire front page of the Daily Prophet was filled with a single story written exclusively by Rita Skeeter. Harry sat down with his friends at breakfast, yawning widely as excited voices filled the hall. The post had already been delivered by the time the trio had arrived and Ginny wordlessly passed over the paper.

Hermione unfolded it as Ron and Harry looked over her shoulder to read.

**Ministry Stops Death Eater Attack**

**By Rita Skeeter**

_ In the early morning hours today, at the small town of Midland, everything was blissfully quite. Children were tucked safely away in their beds and adults were sleeping cozily with their loved ones. No one knew of the danger about to strike their small town. No one that is, except for Minister Rufus Scrigemore and his Aurors._

_ Due to the excellent investigative abilities of the Ministry of Magic, Aurors were able to uncover a plot to attack the sleepy town of Midland by Death Eaters. Aurors, led by Gawain Robards, hurried to the town and began warding it from any harm. So when Death Eaters showed up to torture and kill innocent people in their sleep, the Ministry's best were waiting for them._

_ The battle waged for hours and this reporter is still awed by the heroic acts of the men and woman fighting. By the time dawn had broken, the Death Eaters had been forced to retreat. The Ministry was able to capture two Death Eaters and is now interrogating them for any information they may have._

_ However despite our victory, there were still loses to our brave men and woman. I know I speak for everyone at the _Daily Prophet_ when I say our hearts go out to the families of those lost and hurt. The Aurors names are being withheld until the families have been contacted._

Hermione folded the paper and set it down. Harry's head hit the table with a soft thud.

"Midland does sound familiar," Harry admitted after a long moment.

"The Ministry's great detective work." Ron snorted in disgust. "Some detectives. They basically tortured the information out of Harry."

"At least Skeeter didn't mention that in her article."

"Of course not," Hermione said. "That would tip off Voldemort who would then begin to ward his mind against you."

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"We'll think of something, Harry," Hermione promised. "Don't give up yet. We've only just started looking."

"Yeah." Harry stood up. "I think I'm going to skive off classes today. I need some time to think."

"Oh but Harry, you're already so far behind…"

"One more missed day isn't going to push me back any farther than I already am. Just take good notes for me to copy, okay?"

Harry left the Great Hall without bothering to eat. He didn't feel like eating anyway. His mind was a jumble. There were so many thoughts running through his head. On the one hand, he was grateful that Midland had been spared a horrific fate. On the other though, the mere thought of how the Ministry had gotten that information made him sick to his stomach. He wanted to help but wasn't there another way?

Maybe Harry was being selfish with this. After all, he was fine. The potion had hurt for awhile but Harry had been okay, eventually. And because of him, hundreds of lives had been saved. A few Aurors had died fighting but this was war. Tragic things like that were bound to happen.

Harry came back to reality and realized he was at the Hogwarts' gates. Suddenly, he was filled with the desire to see his friends. He wanted Quatre's sympathizing words, Duo's unconquerable humor, Trowa's silent support, Heero's logical mind, and Wufei's unyielding strength.

He wanted to be with people who would understand.

Pulling out the Marauder's Map, Harry did a quick scan. There was no one from the Ministry present on school grounds which meant no one was around to activate the tracking spell on him. So as long as none of the teachers reported him missing, Harry wouldn't be found out. Shoving the map away, Harry slipped out the gate and ran.

As he ran, Harry wondered if this was the best thing to do. The five teens didn't remember him. It was rather selfish for Harry to expect them to be there for him when they saw him as nothing but a stranger. Why should they sympathize with him? They didn't know or care about his life. They were just here to complete the mission.

Harry's thoughts were harsh and bitter but he knew they were true. He didn't blame his friends in the least but it still hurt. Their blank stares as they looked at him were cold and uninviting. Harry didn't hold any false hope that the five could become close again. He had every intention of sending them away and knew that after everything that had been done to them the teens weren't going to want anything to do with the Wizarding World once the mission was over.

Harry slowed to a walk as he neared the Hogsmead Village. If he went with that logic then maybe talking to the five now wasn't such a good idea. Harry didn't plan on telling them the whole story so how could he expect them to give him advice or sympathize? But even so, Harry still wanted to be with them. They may not care for him anymore but Harry still took comfort from their presence.

As he entered the village, Harry pulled his school robes over his head, hiding his face as best he could. He charmed his clothes completely white to match the snow on the ground and hid the Hogwarts insignia. He kept his head bowed low and made sure not to make eye contact with anyone as he weaved through the crowds.

The Hogshead Pub appeared before him and Harry slipped inside. There were only two patrons sitting together in the back, hunched over and arguing in whispers. Harry ignored them and went straight to the bartender.

"Where are they?" he asked still keeping his head down.

The bartender sniffed at him. "Took off. Said something 'bout being tracked."

"Where?"

"Try the mountains." He turned his back and proceeded to ignore Harry.

Harry didn't mind and slipped out the door. He frowned in thought before deciding where to go. The only place he knew in the mountains was where Sirius had hid back in forth year. It was as good as place as any to start, he supposed.

By the time Harry made it up the large hills and climbed over the rocks, his hands and face were numb and his body was shivering uncontrollably. He cast a heating charm on his clothes but it didn't help his hands or face, since they had no protection from the biting wind.

Harry stumbled his way over the rocks, being careful to watch where he stepped. He was paying such close attention to his feet, he didn't notice Heero until the teen's gun was pointed in his face. Harry blinked at the weapon in surprise and looked up at brunette.

Heero frowned but lowered his weapon. "What are you doing?"

Harry climbed up onto a rock so he could sit. "Well the bartender said you had gone to the mountains, and this was where my Godfather had hidden a couple years ago when he was on the run." Heero was frowning at him and Harry smiled. "It's a very small village, Heero."

"Follow me," Heero ordered turning away. Harry did so, marveling at how easily Heero moved through snow and rocks. Even after all this time, Harry was still amazed by Heero's athletic abilities. He was dressed in warm clothes and had gloves and boots on. Harry really wished he would have remembered his winter clothing before running off.

"You are white," Heero suddenly spoke up.

"I charmed my clothes to match the snow so that I'd blend in more. Not that it mattered, in your case."

"It was a practical thing to do." Harry smiled proudly. "Are you being tracked?"

"No. The spell on me glows when someone activates it which is how I know they're looking for me. But the spell only tells where I am, not where I've been. You guys could have probably stayed at the pub without worrying."

"Hn."

Harry smiled. That was Heero grunt for, "Not a chance."

They reached the center of the hill and slipped into the same cave Sirius had once hidden in two years ago. The other four were sitting around a small fire, all of their personal belongings were stacked into a corner and sleeping bags were unrolled on the stone floor. Snowball was curled among the warm beds, sleeping soundly.

"Where'd you guys get all this stuff?" Harry asked following Heero inside.

The others looked up at them. "The Hogshead pub owner was kind enough to get us some things we needed," Quatre answered. "Where are your winter clothes?"

"Forgot'em. S'okay though, I cast a heating charm on myself."

"You should still have at least gloves," the blonde scolded. "Hold your hands over the fire, they look frozen."

"Mhmm." Harry did as bid, enjoying the heat. "Heating charms just make you feel warm, they don't actually warm you up."

"That's rather pointless," Duo said.

Harry shrugged. "Magic is the most inconvenient of conveniences. How have you guys been doing? _What_ have you been doing?"

"Not a whole lot," Duo complained. "We've basically been doing research."

"Research? On what?"

Duo grinned. "You. This freaky world."

Harry frowned at him, taking his hands away from the fire. Snowball woke up and miserably crawled into Harry's lap. He hated being cooped up in a cave, trapped by the cold snow.

Harry petted the animal absently. "Why would you research me? You could just ask."

"But you would never tell us all about how you cry for your parents at night." Duo reached behind him and pulled out old copies of the _Daily Prophet_, tossing them in front of Harry to see. "Or about your love triangle with a pretty girl." Harry just scowled at the articles written in the past, most of him and almost all by Rita Skeeter. He kicked the papers away, not wanting to see them.

"Everything in there is pure crap. Nothing that has ever been printed about me has ever been true."

"We kinda figured that. But it's important to know how the world views our charge."

"The world's view of me changes as often as the seasons. I don't care what people think or say of me anymore! I don't care what they want. I'm not some fucking savior or the great Chosen One. They can find someone else to be there sacrificial hero because I'm not doing it!"

And, suddenly, Harry knew what he wanted to do about the Minister and his bloody potion. He wanted it to stop. Yes, it may help people but… it wasn't fair. It hurt. It hurt so much that just remembering the pain made Harry think he could feel it again. It wasn't _like_ a form of torture; it _was_ torture. The Minister was torturing Harry for information that he didn't have but was expected to get. Either you find out where Voldemort was going to attack next or we're just going to keep hurting you. It wasn't Harry's responsibility to save the world. It was the Ministry's and the people who had _volunteered_ to fight. The only reason Harry was in this fight at all was because of some insane prophecy that everyone felt the need to take way too seriously.

Harry hadn't realized that he'd curled his legs to his chest and buried his face into Snowball's soft fur. Now that he had made up his mind, he had to find a way to stop the Minister. One trip with the potion was too much for one lifetime.

A hand fell on his shoulder and Harry jerked away in surprise. Quatre was staring at him with his eyes full of concern and Harry forced himself to flash a weak smile.

"Sorry, didn't mean to snap," he said uncurling his legs. "I just really hate newspapers."

"Really? Never would have guessed," Duo joked lightly.

Harry smiled slightly. He shook his head and sighed, looking at all five boys gathered around the fire. "You guys should probably get going."

"Going where?" Duo asked raising an eyebrow.

"Back to the muggle world, your world." Harry shrugged. "Back to your lives. There's not a whole lot more you can do here."

"Excuse you?"

"Harry, we have been lying low and studying this world so that we can blend in better," Quatre said. "We've been studying everything we can so as to better protect you."

"I realize that. And you have no idea how much that means to me. _Honestly_. But that doesn't change anything. Muggles can't live in the wizarding world no matter how much you know about it. It's just how magic works."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Duo spoke up, still frowning, "but aren't half the witches here from the so-called muggle world?"

Harry nodded. "Muggleborns. But they have magic. It's not a question of how much you know or how well you can adapt; it's a matter of whether or not you have _magic_. That's all that really matters."

"So you're discriminating against us because we can't make an object float in mid-air?"

"I'm not discriminating against anyone! I know how good you guys are, trust me. I don't doubt your skills for a second."

"So then what the hell's your problem?"

Harry sighed, shaking his head. What _was_ his problem? He wanted nothing more than to be with these guys. He took comfort from their presence and felt safe with them. But Harry couldn't be selfish now. With his decision to disobey the Ministry, Harry was only going to get into more trouble than he usually did. It wouldn't be fair to drag these guys into his problems. He had already caused them to lose their memories; Harry couldn't stand the thought of being the reason they went to jail or were hurt. Or possibly even killed.

Harry stood up, lifting Snowball with him. "I'm sorry but you guys should really just go back to your own lives. If the Ministry catches you, you'll be thrown in jail and wizarding jails are a lot worse than muggle ones."

"We're not worried about it," Quatre assured.

Harry shook his head stubbornly. "Look, you guys have done your part. You took care of me for six months; you helped protect me from my uncle. You guys have done more than enough for me already. But it's over now. Your job, your mission, whatever you want to call it, it's done."

Oh but _Merlin_ how Harry wished that weren't true. He wanted them to stay with him for as long as possible. Things were easier with the five teens around. Life was more fun. Life wasn't so… scary.

"Who are you to tell us that?" Duo growled seriously angry now. This kid didn't seem to appreciate just what they were doing for him. They didn't waste their time on just anyone, you know. He should be honored that they cared enough to be here.

"What are you going to do, Duo?" Didn't they realize how hard this was for Harry? Couldn't they just shut up and leave already? "Sit in a cave reading old newspapers for who knows how long? That doesn't help you or me!"

"He's right." Trowa spoke up and all eyes turned to him, surprised that the silent teen had joined the argument. "We can't protect our charge if we don't even know where he is. This is not working."

"Agreed," Heero stated. Harry had the feeling he was about to lose control of the conversation. "We must take into consideration that if we are recognized, we will be arrested. We do not have the same immunities in this world as we do in ours."

"Well we're pretty good at disguises," Duo mused, "and damn good at hiding."

"It'll be tough because he's at a boarding school. The students actually live there," Quatre said.

"I'm also still standing right here!" Harry interrupted but he went ignored.

"There is a forest on the grounds of the school," Wufei said. "We could hide there and have one of us following Potter at all times. So long as we know his schedule and the layout of the castle, we'll be able to follow him secretly."

"We'll have to get the school uniforms as well, just in case we are spotted."

"What the hell are you planning?" Harry shouted finally getting everyone's attention. They looked at him strangely as it was rather obvious what they were planning to do. Harry just shook his head and lowered his voice. "Are you planning on following me around for the rest of this war? Because that's how long I'm going to be in danger; until the war ends."

"We will protect our charge until we are not needed anymore," Heero stated clearly. "That is the mission."

"The mission is over, Heero." Harry tried to convince them all. "You guys have already done everything you can. You just gotta… you gotta…" Harry could feel the beginnings of tears in his eyes. Why were they making this so difficult? Didn't they know that telling them to leave was ripping Harry apart? If they remembered him it would be different. But these five had no idea who he was. They had no reason to stay with him. They had no reason to care for him like he cared for them. "You just gotta go home."

"Why?" Wufei asked. Five pairs of eyes stared hard at Harry. "Is there something you're not telling us?"

Harry never could lie, especially to those he loved. But he didn't want to tell the truth either. Maybe if he stayed quiet they would forget he was there.

"Potter."

Yeah, Harry hadn't really expected that to work.

"I didn't lie, exactly…" The boys sat up straighter, guessing where this conversation was going. "But I did kinda… glaze over some minor details."

"Like _what_?"

Harry fidgeted. "It was Snowball's fault the Ministry found us but… well, you guys _did_ fight them. And you lost."

Duo glared. "Excuse you?"

"It's not like it was your fault or anything!" Harry quickly defended. It did not escape his notice that he was defending their actions to themselves. "I mean, you don't know about magic so how could you be expected to fight against it? It wasn't like all of you didn't try."

"So that's why you're so set on us leaving," Wufei interrupted his babbling. "You do not believe we can do an adequate job of protecting you."

Harry gaped at him like a dead fish.

Despite his anger, Duo couldn't help but laugh at the completely dumbfounded look. You didn't need to be Quatre to know that that wasn't what Harry had been thinking at all. And though they could all tell that, Wufei decided to keep pushing, hoping to get more out of the younger teen.

"Do you really believe we are so weak?"

"Of course I don't! I've never known anyone as strong as you guys! You're amazing!"

"But not good enough to protect you? That's rather conceited."

"You're calling me conceited?" Harry exclaimed narrowing his eyes. "If anyone here's conceited, it's you!"

"How dare you! I am nothing of the sort!"

"Oh yeah? Mr. I-can-change-the-world-by-spouting-my-views-of-justice-really-loud."

Wufei's eyes narrowed and he stalked forward. This boy needed to be put in his place. "Says a mere child who likes to pretend he's a martyr and can take care of himself even though he obviously cannot!"

"I can so!" Harry defended somewhat childishly, not backing down. The others were turning their heads back and forth between the two like a tennis match. "I've taken care of myself since I could walk! Don't think that just because you let me sleep with you a few times–" Harry suddenly stopped talking as he what he had said registered in his mind. The others had obviously caught what he said as well, judging by their now dumbfounded faces. "Never mind. You're right, I'm wrong. I'll just be leaving now."

He made a dash for the cave entrance but Duo caught him before he was even halfway. He swung Harry around and plopped him back in front of the fire. Duo was then in his face, his eyes flashing with mischievous excitement.

"Did you just say," he asked trying to control his excited voice, "that you _slept_ with Wufei a _few_ times?"

"Maxwell!" Wufei hissed. He wasn't sure whether or not he wanted Duo to shut up or he wanted to hear Harry's answer.

Harry was firmly keeping his mouth shut.

"Well?" Duo prodded. "Come on, Harry. Tell me. You can tell me, it'll be all right."

Harry took a deep breath and Duo leaned forward eagerly. "That…" Duo smiled in anticipation. "…is between me and Wufei. It's none of your business."

"Wha…? No way! Come _on_!"

Harry turned his nose in the air and refused to give in. Again, Wufei wasn't sure if he was relieved or annoyed by the lack of response. He couldn't imagine sharing his bed with anyone but the other pilots and even with them it would be only in certain situations. Then again, he would have never imagined magic being real either. It seemed Harry Potter had a knack for making the impossible possible. He also had a knack for getting out of arguments. That was the second time he had managed to change the subject so completely they forgot to be angry with him.

With a sigh, Wufei stood. He glared down at Harry who just offered a sheepish smile, holding his stupid pet close.

"We are going to follow you back to your school," he announced. "And we are going to guard you until _we_ decide to leave. If you know any places to hide, you will tell us. If not, we will find our own. After that is accomplished, you will retell everything about the last six months and _this_ time, you will not neglect to mention or 'glaze over' any details."

Harry stared up at him, more than slightly intimidated. "Okay."

"Good. Maxwell, gather our things, Trowa, get that stupid animal. And you, sit and don't move until we are ready to leave."

"Okay." Harry repeated sitting and not moving like he had been told. Duo seemed to be very amused by the situation as he didn't complain as he gathered their belongings with a smile.

Once everyone was ready, Wufei turned back to Harry. "Do you know anywhere we can hide or will we find a place ourselves?"

Harry pulled out the Marauder's tapped thepage with his finger. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." The map appeared and Harry held it out for the others to see. "This is the most detailed map of the entire school. Every secret passage way and hidden room is on here. It also shows the location of every single person on Hogwarts grounds whether they're students or visitors." Harry watched as the five flipped through the pages in amazement. "It shows your real name, no matter if you're trying to disguise yourself or acting under a false one. The map is never wrong and impossible to fool." At Heero's skeptical look, Harry frowned. "And yes, it has been tested and proven. Many times over, in fact."

"They allow students with something like this?" Quatre asked in surprise.

Harry shook his head. "Nope, it's one of kind. My father made it when he was in school. He and his friends knew more about the castle than anyone. They were the Marauders." The pride was evident in Harry's voice. "They created this map to get away with pranks and breaking the rules."

"Sweet." Duo nodded in approval. "So where's the best place to hide?"

Harry pointed at a small square. "The Room of Requirement."

* * *

As they walked Harry explained about the Room of Requirement. He had disillusioned everyone and walked in the middle of the group without complaint. The five were pretty skeptical about a room that gave you anything you asked for but still went along with it. Harry explained that only one person could use the room at a time so no one would be able to get in unless the five let them in themselves.

While that sounded just fine to the boys, Harry also informed them that others know about the room as well. Students would undoubtedly start noticing if someone was living in the Room of Requirement. They would be able to stay there during classes without having to worry but Harry was going to have to track down a better place for the five to hide.

They made it to the school without seeing anyone and Harry took the map once they were at the gates. He led the way through the empty halls. Dinner had started half an hour ago so few people were wandering about. Harry kept an eye on the map, just in case. Once there, Harry put the map away and turned to the five.

"Okay, to get the room to appear you walk three times in front of the painting and think really hard about what you want."

The five stared at him. "You're joking, right?"

Harry smiled at them and turned around. He paced back and forth, thinking hard for a room that everyone could stay in and have anything they needed without worrying about being caught. After his third trip a door appeared and Harry smirked, pulling it open for the guys to see.

Four beds lined the back wall next to each other. Two were king sized, while the other two were regular twins. They all had thick, warm comforters and canopies above the bed. Next to the beds on the right wall was a large dresser. It was filled with clothes that had once been lost by previous Hogwarts students and found their way here. There were even some school uniforms, just like the five had wanted. On the left side of the room, a fire crackled warmly. A small fluffy pet bed sat right in front of it for Snowball. A table was in the center of the room with a lit candle in the middle.

Harry shut the door behind everyone and smiled as they all fought to keep the shock from their faces.

He couldn't resist. "Told you so."

"This is freakin awesome!" Duo exclaimed. "So this room actually gives me whatever I want?"

"It gives what you need," Harry corrected. "Though a lot of times, those go hand in hand." Harry smiled as Snowball jumped from Trowa's arms and curled up in his little bed by the fireplace.

"Well hey, I _need_ some food."

A bowl of fruit appeared on the table and Duo snatched an apple. He bit into it but immediately spit it back out again.

"Gross!" The apple was made of chewable plastic.

"The room can't make food," Harry explained. "Food is one of the five elements covered by Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration that states the material cannot be conjured or transfigured. It must be made naturally. **(1.)** If the Room can't give you something, it gives you the closest thing to it."

"So what are we supposed to eat?" Duo asked tossing the apple aside.

"Uh…" Harry snapped his fingers as a thought struck him. "Dobby!"

He hadn't meant to call the elf, but apparently snapping one's fingers and shouting an elf's name summoned them whether you meant to or not. The creature appeared before him with a pop and large smile.

"You—"

"NO!" Harry exclaimed. He grabbed Dobby out of the way just as Heero's bullet hit the floor near the elf's feet. Dobby twisted in Harry's hold and waved his hands, pinning all five boys to the wall above their beds.

"Don't worry, Master Harry Potter, sir! Dobby will protect you!"

"No, Dobby, put them down! They're my friends!"

"Friends?" Dobby looked at the five angry boys doubtfully.

"Yes, friends." Harry sighed. "Please, just put them down."

Dutifully, Dobby dropped the teens onto the beds. The five crawled to their feet, glaring at the odd creature and keeping their weapons drawn.

"What," Heero growled, "is _that_?"

"_His_ name is Dobby. Dobby, these guys are my friends. And I need to ask you a big favor."

"Oh anything, Master Harry Potter, sir, anything!" Dobby replied enthusiastically, his ears flopping about as he jumped in excitement.

"No one knows these guys are here and, most importantly, no one can know. I need you to help me hide them."

"Hide them, sir?"

"Uh-huh. Because people will notice if they stay here all the time. Can you find a place that's out of the way, big enough for all of them, and people can't accidentally stumble upon?"

Dobby looked thoughtful, his large lips jutting out in a thoughtful pout. "There may be a place but Dobby not sure Harry Potter would want to go there."

"Why not?"

"It's far in the dungeons. Students aren't allowed but to get there, you must pass the…" Dobby looked around fearfully and leaned forward to whisper, "Slytherin Dormitories."

Harry half-smiled at the dramatics. "Don't worry about that. I'll check it out tomorrow. Um… I have free period right after lunch."

"Dobby will be sure to have everything ready for Master Harry Potter and his friends." The elf nodded enthusiastically. "Dobby will clean all night if Dobby has to!"

"Don't strain yourself." Harry smiled. Dobby glowed at the concern. "We'll worry about fixing it up later. For now, do you think you could bring us something to eat? We all kinda missed dinner."

"Oh, right away Mr. Harry Potter, sir! Dobby will return with a meal worthy of someone as great as the kind, noble, brave—"

"Dobby."

"Right away, Harry Potter." Dobby snapped his fingers and disappeared in a wisp of smoke.

Harry glanced over at his friends. Heero still looked pissed but Duo had a large grin on his face.

"Master Harry Potter," he teased. "Well, well, looks like _someone_ has been keeping see-crets."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You caught me, Duo. I'm actually descendant from a long line of wizard kings and am meant to rule the world."

"Voldemort's your long lost older brother, isn't he?"

"How did you _ever_ figure it out?" Harry faked being surprised. He turned to Heero. "Heero, Dobby's about to pop back in."

Heero stiffened as the elf appeared just as Harry finished speaking. He managed to control his impulse to draw his gun and shoot.

"I have returned with dinner for Master Harry Potter and his friends!" Dobby squeaked excitedly. A large spread of fresh food appeared on the table. There was steak, potatoes, kidney pie, fresh vegetables, and cake and brownies for dessert. The table expanded and added chairs for everyone.

"Dobby always goes all out." Harry smiled at the shocked looks on the five's faces.

"He made all this in less than two minutes?" Quatre exclaimed.

Harry just shrugged. "Welcome to the Wizarding World."

* * *

"Where have you been?" Hermione hissed angrily as Harry stumbled into the Gryffindor Dorms just after three in the morning. She and Ron were sitting by the fire in their nightwear. Crooshanks jumped from the girl's lap at the angry outburst and Hermione stood with her hands on her hips and glaring.

"How long have you been waiting?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Since you skipped classes and disappeared! And you took the Marauder's Map so we couldn't find you! We've been worried sick! The Professors have been discreetly trying to find you all day!"

"I didn't think anyone noticed since no one activated the tracking spell on me."

"They didn't want to alert the Ministry. Now whe—"

"What is that?!" Ron suddenly exclaimed. He pointed behind Harry with a shocked face.

Harry glanced over his shoulder and smiled. "That's where I've been all day." He knelt down and Snowball ran into his arms. "Guys, this is Snowball. You remember me telling you about him, right?"

"That's a magical tiger, Harry!" Ron said in amazement.

"They're really rare," Hermione added. "He's so cute! Can I pet him?"

"Sure. He won't bite."

Hermione reached out and patted his head. "His fur's so soft. Like a baby blanket." Ron also moved to pet him and Snowball licked his hand, purring happily.

"I think he's more comfortable around boys. He's never really been around girls."

"But I thought he was still with those boys you told us about?"

Harry grinned widely. "They're here!"

"What?"

"They followed me and wouldn't leave when I told them it wasn't safe. So I have them hidden in the Room of Requirement right now. Dobby's going to find a place for them to hide permanently."

"Harry!" Hermione gasped. "That's against the rules!"

Harry shrugged and turned serious. "I've also made up my mind. I'm not going to let the Minister force-feed me that potion anymore. I don't care what power he thinks he has over me."

To their credit, Ron and Hermione didn't question his choice or how it came about. They simply smiled and nodded their agreement. "I guess we can talk more in the morning,." Hermione said. "Harry, you look like you could really use some sleep. We'll tell the Professors you're back but expect a long lecture before classes tomorrow."

Harry groaned but didn't argue.

"And," Ron added, "We want to meet these bodyguards of yours."

Harry nodded. "Let them get settled in first then I'll introduce you. But don't tell the Professors they're here!" He looked particular hard at Hermione when he said this. "Heero's going to deal with them his way."

The girl was torn between disapproval at lying and anger that Harry thought she wouldn't keep his secrets. "Fine. We still have time before the Minister comes back again, I'm sure we'll come up with some sort of plan before next Sunday."

Harry nodded. "Sounds good. But for tonight, I'm going to bed. No more thinking." He let Snowball jump from his arms and turned towards the stairs. "See ya guys in the morning."

"Oh wait," Hermione called. "Let us have the map so we don't get caught going to see the teachers."

"Can't. I gave it to Heero. It was the only way he would agree to let me come back here on my own. He's probably staring intently at all our dots, waiting for me to go to bed."

Ron and Hermione exchanged looks. "It's going to be weird meeting that guy," Ron said. "Do you at least have your cloak?"

"Yeah, let me get it." Harry hurried up the stairs, Snowball running after him. Harry popped his trunk open and pulled out the cloak, folding it over his arm. He pointed at the bed. "On the bed, Snow. I'll be back up in a minute." He turned to go as Snowball did as he was told. "Oh, and don't eat my pillows." Snowball yipped.

Harry hurried back to his friends and handed over the cloak. "Don't get caught," he teased.

The two rolled their eyes at him. "Get some sleep, Harry. We'll finish this in the morning."

They disappeared under the cloak and Harry called a goodnight before going to bed.

**A/N: There's going to be some fighting next chapter and for those who are waiting for Harry to start fighting back, you'll see it next chapter as well. See you then!**

**(So when I uploaded this chapter I accidentally uploaded an old, unedited version. So I deleted that one and said to myself, Let's try this again, which just happens to be the title for this chapter! Oh how I giggled.)  
**


	14. This is how Wizards Fight

**I have so much to say for this chapter. This chapter is pretty long and packed **

**That's all, please enjoy the chapter now. Comments at the end.**

**Chapter Fourteen: This Is How Wizards Fight**

Hermione hadn't been joking when she had told Harry to expect a long lecture from Professor McGonagall for running off. She yelled at him for so long that by the time she was finished, class was over and everyone had missed out on Transfigurations. The other students didn't know what Harry had done but congratulated him anyway. Harry ended up losing fifty points for Gryffindor and receiving a month of Saturday detentions.

He also didn't get the chance to sneak away like he'd been planning to see his friends. The teachers were all making sure he was in class and on time. Harry had stopped off at the bathroom before Charms and was a whole thirty seconds late and Professor Flitwick actually sent two Prefects to find him and bring him directly to class.

Finally classes came to an end and Harry and his friends made their way to the Great Hall. Harry had asked Dobby to keep Heero and the others stocked up with food and the little house elf had been more than happy to comply. After dinner, Harry called Dobby again and asked him to show him the room he'd found.

Hiding under the invisibility cloak, the trio followed Dobby down to the dungeons. They passed a Slytherin second year and Ron couldn't resist tripping the boy and making "scary" noises. The poor second year went pale and ran away screaming.

"Ron, that was cruel," Hermione scolded.

"No Gryffindor second year would be that pansy."

"Come on, guys," Harry urged. "I want to get this done before the teachers start sending Prefects after me again."

"You weren't in class!"

"I was thirty seconds late!" Harry grumbled. "Forgive me for having to pee!"

"Young Masters!" Dobby called. "Is yous coming?"

"Yes, we're here, Dobby. Keep going."

"So hey, why are we hiding them here, anyways?"

"It was the only place Dobby could find."

"What about the Chamber of Secrets?"

Harry and Hermione stopped and turned to the redhead with disbelieving looks. "You want me to hide five guys in an underground shrine devoted to a killer snake that can only be opened by a paraslemouth, namely me or Voldemort, where I was almost killed, and your sister almost _died_?"

Ron flushed. "It's not a shrine…"

"Close enough."

"Harry's right, that wouldn't work at. They'd have no way out unless we transfigured some sort of stairs and that would take a great deal of advanced magic with how large the stairs would have to be. And not to mention… did anyone ever take care of the Basilisk? Because if it's been rotting down there since our third year then that is not sanitary at all and would be extremely disgusting."

"Okay, okay, I get it. It was just a thought."

They continued on until just past the Slytherin dorms where there was a suit of armor standing alone. Dobby tapped it twice on the chest and the armor moved aside to reveal a hidden door. "_Cella_ _Occultus_." Dobby squeaked and the door opened on its own.

The room had a thin layer of dust and the fireplace was filled with ash. The layout was the same as what the Room of Requirement currently looked like only this room was slightly smaller and lacked furniture. Harry took off the cloak and looked around.

"It's kinda small," Ron said. "How are five guys going to stay here?"

"There's nothing else, Dobby?" Harry asked. "This is good, it's just so small."

"This most hidden room that not move, Harry Potter. There is more." He walked over to the fireplace and snapped his fingers, putting the fire out. The trio watched as the elf stepped into the ashes and pressed the brick in the exact center of the fireplace. The bricks folded away, much like the wall that lead to Diagon Alley did, to reveal a secret passageway. Dobby stepped to the side and let the kids peer in.

"This how house-elves travel," he told them happily. "It take you right to Gryffindor tower or wherever you need go."

Harry grinned. "Heero will love this." He turned to his friends. "Let's say we try it out."

"Sure." They stood in front of the fireplace and stepped into the tunnel.

"Seventh floor, Portrait of Barnabas the Barmy," Harry stated. A path lit up before them and torches on the wall lit the way. The three followed the lights and, in no time at all, were stepping out of the tunnel into the corridor across from the Room.

Ron looked around and whistled quietly. "We just made it from the dungeons to the seventh floor in less than five minutes. How wicked is this?"

Harry grinned. "Thanks Dobby, I owe you. Again."

Dobby beamed at the praise. "Dobby is glad to serve Master Harry Potter. If yous is needing anything more, please, call on Dobby again!"

"Sure, thanks Dobby." The house-elf disappeared quietly. "Ready to meet my bodyguards?"

"Hell yeah!"

Harry led the way to the Room of Requirement and knocked on the door softly three times, just like Heero had taught him. He waited patiently for five seconds before knocking again and opening the door.

"Secret knocks." Harry shrugged to Ron's confused face.

"That's weird."

"That's secure," Hermione corrected.

The boys were lounging around, deceivingly calm. Harry could tell they were wary of his friends and hoped to put them at ease as quickly as possible. Duo jumped to his feet and grinned widely as the others slowly stood as well.

"Who're they, huh?"

Harry smiled. "My friends." Harry turned to Ron and Hermione. "Friends, meet bodyguards, bodyguards, meet friends."

"That's _so_ helpful of you, Harry." Hermione frowned. She turned to the boys. "I'm Hermione Granger, this is Ronald Weasley."

"Ron. Not Ronald, Ron." Hermione just rolled her eyes.

Duo introduced the group quickly, staring the two up and down as he absently gave out everyone's name. He nodded in approval, liking the look of Harry's friends. They didn't look particularly strong or useful but Duo could tell by how casual Harry was with them and how the three teased each other that they were all good friends.

"We have good news," Harry said after introductions. "We found a room for you guys to stay in. And Dobby showed us how house-elves get around the school quickly and without being seen."

"Yeah, we got all the way up here from the dungeons in five minutes!" Ron exclaimed. "No wonder them little buggers are so efficient!"

"Ronald!" Hermione screeched. Harry and Ron flinched both knowing with a sense of dread what was coming. Harry was lucky enough to escape by slipping behind Trowa, who was farthest away from Hermione. Ron however, was caught in her sights.

"How insensitive can you be! And how dare you call them 'little buggers!' They are people with feelings and rights just the same as us! Treating them like slaves and using them to do our housework and chores because wizards are too lazy to do it themselves –even with magic— is inexcusable—"

"Hermione!" Ron and Harry yelled together. She stopped, her eyes glaring.

"_What_?"

"Can we talk S.P.E.W. later?" Harry requested peeking his head out from behind Trowa. "We have other things to discuss." The girl huffed angrily but nodded anyway. She would make sure Ron got an earful later though, you could count on that! Ron and Harry sighed in relief.

"What's spew?" Duo asked.

"Nothing!" Ron and Harry shouted quickly. Hermione glared and rolled her eyes.

Harry smiled. "I'll tell ya later, Duo."

"Whatever. So, new room?"

"Yeah, I figured you would want to check it out and if you liked it, we'd clean it up and then move you there. How's that sound?"

Quatre glanced at his comrades. "That sounds perfect. Shall we go now or are you expected somewhere?"

"Nope, we're free for the night."

"Uh, no we're not," Ron interrupted. Hermione nodded in agreement.

Harry was confused. "Why? What do we have planned?"

"Harry, we have a D.A. meeting in an hour," Hermione reminded him. "It's Thursday."

"It's Wednesday."

"It's Thursday, mate."

Harry frowned and began counting days off in his head. He realized he'd been in the Hospital Wing or running away most of the week and lost track of days. He shook his head angrily. "Well how am I supposed to keep track of the days with everything that's happened? I can't be expected to keep track of time…"

"Yeah, it's gotta be hard, being tortured, unconscious, and sick most of the week."

"Gee, thanks Ron, and here I was trying to forget."

"Tortured and unconscious?" Heero said his deep blue eyes pinning Harry with a cold stare.

Harry bit his lip and looked up guilty. "Uh… I was going to mention it when you got settled?"

Duo smacked him over the head.

"Owe…"

"You deserved it," Hermione snapped. "Honestly, you and your hero complex. Is it just you or do all boys have one?"

"Don't drag me into this!" Ron exclaimed.

"Well Ron was the one who said it was too dangerous for girls to play Quidditch."

"What?" Hermione screeched.

"Did not!"

"And he admitted he wanted a house elf too. Makes life easier," Harry said.

"I told you that in confidence!"

"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione yelled. "How dare you even _consider_ the idea of owning a house elf! Has S.P.E.W. taught you _nothing_?!"

"I'll smoother you in your sleep for this, Harry." Ron hissed just as Hermione latched onto his ear.

"The only person being smothered in his sleep will be you, Ronald Weasley, when the house elves come to their senses and revolt." She began dragging him away. "And really, a girl can't play Quidditch! Your sister is on the house team! You put her there!"

"Bye Ron, bye Hermione." Harry waved faking a sad face. Ron glared at him the best he could while being dragged away by his ear. If looks could kill… The door opened and slammed, cutting Hermione's nagging off with a snap. Harry burst out laughing.

"Harry, that was rather childish," Quatre scolded.

Harry turned to him, smiling brightly. "When it comes to Hermione you have two choices, deflect the lecture to someone else or die."

"That's rather dramatic."

Harry shrugged. "You've never been lectured by Hermione before."

"Tortured and unconscious." Heero repeated his icy stare unwavering from Harry.

Harry's smile slid from his face. He fidgeted nervously with his shirt. "Yeah… um, it's a long story." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "After I was taken from you guys, I spent a week in the Ministry. They… I don't know how to explain it. They just did a bunch of tests and what not with my connection to Voldemort."

"To what end?"

"They wanted to create a potion that would force the connection to activate so that I could get inside his head and find out what he's planning."

"They're trying to force you into your enemy's head?" Duo demanded incredulously.

Harry shrugged. "They did. That's why I was in the Hospital Wing for so long."

"Explain how this connection works," Heero ordered.

"I can't. I don't know how it works. No one does. It's never happened before in all of wizarding history. You see, the connection was created the night Voldemort failed to kill me with the killing curse. No one has ever survived _Avada_ _Kedavra_ before. I'm the first and only one. That's why no one understands this connection or scar. It's never happened before."

"They must have some idea about how it works, if they are forcing it to become active."

Harry shrugged. "If they do, they're not sharing the information with me."

"It is your mind," Wufei frowned.

"Maybe. But according to the law, they own it." He shook his head. "We can talk about it later. Right now, you guys have to move before the D.A. students start showing up."

"What's D.A.?" Duo asked.

"It's a defense group me and my friends started last year." Harry explained a note of pride slipping into his voice. "Our defense teacher was pure crap so we started a group in secret and have been teaching kids defensive and offensive battle spells. We've grown a lot since last year. There's about fifty kids total now."

"You teach other students how to fight?"

Harry nodded. "Nothing fancy. Just the basics. Hermione and Ron kept things going while I was gone and have taught them a bunch of spells. But now that I'm back we've all decided it's best to get back on track. Tonight we plan on teaching the Reductor Curse and reviewing the disarming charm and stunning spell." Harry began pacing without realizing it as he spoke and the five couldn't help but be amused. "The original thirty-two students from last year know _Expelliarmus _and _Stupefy_ but it's probably been a while since they've actually used it. And the younger kids haven't reached this far in their classes so we're defiantly going to have to help them out and keep a close eye on things. _Reducto_ will most likely be new for everyone seeing as how it's not a spell that's ever covered in the standard curriculum. But even so, it's a very good one to learn."

Harry continued speaking, listing off students he thought would be good and others who would probably need more help. Duo watched him and rested an arm around Quatre's shoulder.

"Think we should interrupt him?"

"He really seems to be enjoying himself. I'd hate to interrupt."

"He's having a conversation with himself," Wufei butted in. "I don't think it will be a problem."

"Wuffers is right." Duo sighed. "And we need to get out of here before kids start appearing."

Duo casually strolled forward and had Harry in a headlock with a hand over his mouth before the younger teen could blink. Harry frowned and licked Duo's hand, making the older boy let go with a whine.

"Gross…"

"Don't do that. If you wanted me to shut up, you could have just said so."

"But you were so into your conversation with yourself you wouldn't have heard me."

Harry flushed, fighting a pout. "I'll show you guys to the room we found and you can decide if you like it." Harry turned to leave but Heero stopped him.

"What is _Reducto_, Expelliarmus, and Stupefy?"

"Oh, um, _Reducto_ is a battle spell that lets you tear through objects, Expelliarmusis a disarming spell, and Stupefy knocks out your opponent."

Heero frowned deeply. "You will not participate."

"What?"

"Potential for harm is at unacceptable percentages. Our ability to protect is greatly limited and therefore we must decrease the number of harmful situation our charge will be in by as much as possible."

Harry lifted an eyebrow. "It's a bunch of students who are the same age and younger than me. Somehow, I think I'll be okay."

Heero stared him down. "Age is irrelevant."

"Heero, it's just a class. I'm the teacher. It'll be fine, I promise."

"No."

Harry scowled. "Well I can't just back out. I'm one who started this club last year and everyone expects me to be here tonight. I can't just not show up."

"Yes, you can."

Harry blew out a puff of air. He had forgotten how much he hated Heero's stubbornness. There was no way Harry would be allowed to stay and teach the D.A. if Heero said no.

"How about a compromise then?" Harry suggested. "You can stay here and watch and if things get out of control, I'll leave."

Heero lifted an eyebrow. "Stay where?"

Harry gestured for everyone to follow him outside. The hallways were clear of students and the teens waited as Harry paced in front of the room again. When a new door appeared, Harry led the way back inside and looked around. The room was exactly as it should be for D.A. meetings with a little change; one of the bookcases was fake. When standing in front of it, it looked like just another bookcase; but when behind it, it was see through. Harry turned back to Heero.

"Will this do?"

Heero survived the hiding place, finding it inadequate and unnecessarily risky but it would be sufficient for now. It would draw less attention if Harry was allowed to fulfill his obligations towards this group. Next time, Heero would be sure to come up with a more satisfactory solution. He turned to Harry.

"It will suffice. This time."

Harry beamed. "Kids will start arriving in half an hour. I'm gonna go track down Ron and Hermione so we can get started setting up. See ya in a minute." Harry was gone through the door, Snowball running at his heels.

"Well he's a happy little boy today," Duo commented. "You notice he seems much more cheerful than the last couple days?"

"It's because of us," Quatre said. "He's just that excited for us to be here."

The five fell into an awkward silence, not sure what to say to that. It didn't take long before Harry was back with his friends. Ron was sporting a very red ear and glaring at Harry while Hermione wore a very satisfied face. They greeted everyone before Harry had them working to get everything prepared.

At exactly seven o'clock, the first students arrived. Heero and the others took up their hiding spot to watch as the room slowly filled. They waited ten minutes before everyone had arrived and Ron and Hermione began calling for silence. Harry stood on a dueling platform the room had created and everyone sat back to listen.

"Okay, what we're doing today is studying three basic battle curses that are very helpful to know." Harry said and a murmur of excitement went through the room. "_Stupefy_, _Reducto_, and _Expelliarmus_. Now last year we studied stunning and disarming, so everyone who was here then, I want you to practice and help out the new people. But before we begin, Hermione's gonna give a mini lecture." The Gryffindors present groaned loudly and Hermione scowled. Harry laughed. "Don't worry, she promised to keep it short."

"Her idea of short isn't the same as the rest of us," a student mumbled from the group. Everyone laughed as Hermione took the stage.

"Now," she began firmly and everyone reluctantly fell silent, "The reason we are studying these spells are because they are some of the most commonly used battle spells amongst not only amateur fighters but professionally trained ones as well."

She spoke for another fifteen minutes but no one complained, finding her descriptions of fighting and the spells used in fights to be interesting. She even threw in a couple of examples of when she, Harry, and Ron had used the spells in real battles. As she was talking, Harry and Ron had jumped onto the platform and removed their outer robes. As she finished, they each took separate sides and Hermione gestured to them.

"Now, Harry and Ron are going to demonstrate everything I've just discussed in a proper wizard dual." Cheers of excitement echoed through the room. "Also, we're going to be putting you to the test at the same time. Neither Harry nor Ron are going to be controlling their spells or paying attention to where they go. In other words, spells are going to be flying around everywhere and, if you want to avoid getting hit, you will have to be alert and remember all of the shield charms we have taught you this year." The excitement level rose as students began drawing their wands and stood up. Hermione nodded and jumped from the platform. "First one to three points wins!" she called. "Begin!"

The students pressed forward eagerly as Ron and Harry bowed to each other. Both lifted their wands but Harry was the fastest and shouted, "_Expelliarmus_!" disarming Ron instantly and catching his friend's wand.

"Point, Harry!" Hermione called. The students booed in disappointment and Harry took center stage.

"The best way to win a fight is to never let it escalate in the first place." He explained patiently. "By disarming Ron quickly, I assured not only my own victory, but that no one would be hurt. Always try to disarm before fighting. A Death Eater is going to know a lot more curses and spells than you and they're not going to hold back. The Cruciatus Curse _hurts_."

Harry tossed Ron's wand back to him and they retook positions. Hermione called out, "Round two. Begin!"

This time, Harry didn't try and disarm Ron right away. He had made his point and now it was time to move on to an actual fight. Ron, Harry was pleased to see, was taking this very seriously. His face was a mask of concentration as he mentally processed Harry's moves and tried to predict what his friend would do next. One the flip side, he didn't over think his moves and let his instincts guide him. He cast spells that were simple yet disabling.

The two friends danced around each other with Ron shooting off the majority of spells. He didn't have Harry's speed and agility and tended to try to overwhelm his opponent. Harry continued to dodge, firing _Reducto_ and stunners when he had an opening. They played for a few minutes before Harry glanced off to the side and nodded at Hermione. The blonde girl ran around the platform, unnoticed by the enthralled students. Hermione came up behind Harry and waited a heartbeat before jumping onto the stage and firing a stunner at Harry's back, knocking him out cold. The students booed loudly, especially the Gryffindors, and luckily missed the angry dark haired teen that appeared from behind a bookcase only to be pulled back a pair of hands.

Hermione calmly revived Harry and helped him to his feet calling out, "Point, Ron."

"What? That's not fair! You cheated!"

"Yeah, you're not even in the fight! Weasley needs to take out Potter on his own for it to be a point."

Harry smiled and Ron was the one who stepped forward to deliver the next lesson, his face serious. "In a real fight, there are no such things as fairness or points. Death Eaters are not above attacking from behind. You can't get so focused on a single opponent that you forget your surroundings and leave your back uncovered. You've gotta be aware at all times."

"I know it's a hard thing to do," Harry said. "But you've gotta at least try. In a real fight, you get one point and that point is your life."

The students looked properly cowed and Harry smiled reassuringly at them all. "Don't worry, if you're ever in a fight, you'll have someone backing you up, I'm sure. The three of us are always available."

The kids laughed and Hermione leapt from the platform again. She raised her hand, "Begin!"

This time, Harry and Ron didn't focus so much on beating each other as just throwing as many wild spells as they could. They made sure to point at the students and Hermione took notes on who had the fastest reflects and who failed to put up shields at all. It wasn't long before everyone had placed a shield around themselves.

"_Reducto_!" Harry shouted. The spell caught Ron's shoulder and Harry was covering him with his wand a moment later. Hermione called a point for Harry and the students cheered as Hermione revived her friend.

"Now," Harry spoke loudly to get everyone's attention, "This was just a play fight. Me and Ron have been practicing like this for awhile so we know what the other can handle. In a real fight, things are a lot messier and way harder." At the students nods Harry grinned. "Okay, everyone pair off. We have an hour left and I want you to practice disarming and stunning. We'll start with _Reducto_ next time."

The class went smoothly after that. Everyone focused on their tasks and didn't slack off. Harry, Hermione, and Ron walked around offering advice and demonstrating when necessary. When Hermione blew the whistle and called for everyone to stop, groans of disappointment met her ears.

"Okay everyone," Harry shouted as they finished cleaning up, "Remember to get lots of sleep next week and be prepared! Reductor is going to bruise you! We'll have some potions and creams standing by to help but it's gonna be a painful lesson!"

After everyone left, Harry allowed himself to collapse back onto a beanbag chair the room provided for him. "That was exhausting."

"But so great!" Hermione exclaimed. "Did you see them when you two were dueling? Everyone was so into it. And they did great with their shield charms. This is was by far the best class we've had all year!"

"All thanks to you, mate." Ron grinned and lifted his arm to pat Harry's shoulder. He flinched in pain and rubbed shoulder. "Ouch, didn't hold back with your curses, did you?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

The five bodyguards chose that moment to step out from their hiding place and join the younger teens in the center of the room. Harry turned to grin at the guys. "So what'd ya think?"

"It was definitely very informative," Quatre answered. "But you really should have told us you were planning that fight."

Harry blinked. "Oh… um, sorry. I guess I didn't think about it. We've been planning this for a while."

Heero was glaring coldly at everyone and Harry shifted uncomfortably. Heero hadn't even wanted him in the same as students learning battle spells; he must be flipping mad that Harry hadn't told him about the duel. Heero never would have allowed him to go through with it if he'd known ahead of time.

"How convenient," Duo muttered and plopped down on the beanbag next to Harry, surprised when the cushion expanded to fit them both comfortably. "So you three seem to have a pretty good idea about fighting."

Hermione and Ron looked sheepishly proud but Harry just offered a sad little smile. "We should get going if you're going to check out that room. Our curfew's in half an hour."

"All right." Duo agreed jumping back up. "Let's go!"

Ron and Hermione led the way out, checking to make sure no was in the corridors, before showing them where the passageway was hidden. Heero tapped Harry on the arm, holding him back for a moment. Harry stared curiously up at him.

"You will not do that again."

Harry was taken back for a moment before he smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes, Heero," he agreed easily offering a tiny teasing smirk. Heero glared at him. "I was actually thinking during class, about the five of you." Harry glanced at him. "Since you're going to be staying, I thought maybe we could teach you as well."

Heero lifted an eyebrow. "You are going to teach us how to fight?"

Harry laughed. "No way! You'd beat the living crap outta me. What I mean is, teach you about magical fighting. We give the D.A. a kinda censored version of everything, but we wouldn't do that with you. And wouldn't it help, knowing what you're up against?"

Heero nodded. "Did you make this offer once before?"

Harry shook his head. "No. When I was with you, I couldn't use magic. It could be detected."

"Hn." Heero was silent for a long moment. "Learning the fighting style of this world would be very beneficial." He nodded. "We will prepare a lesson that is suited to all five of our skills."

"Sure, Heero." Harry smiled. "I'll get some books from the library and we'll start from there."

Happily, Harry led the way to the passageway that the others had already entered. He showed Heero how to access it and spoke where he wanted to go. As they walked, Harry informed Heero of all the places he usually was, like Gryffindor tower, the Great Hall, the Owlry, and promised to write his schedule down. Heero silently approved, liking the attention to detail Harry was careful to put in. They arrived in the dungeons to find everyone milling about the room.

"There you two are," Duo grinned. "I was starting to get jealous."

The long remembered image of when Harry had accidentally walked in on Duo and Heero popped into Harry's mind and the boy blushed brightly, much to the confusion of his friends. Quatre stifled a laugh, taking a guess as to why he was embarrassed.

"Yeah, right…" Harry tried to laugh off his red face. "So what do you guys think? Dobby can clean it up and get you anything you need."

They waited as Heero scoped out the room carefully, running his hands over walls and turning the sink on and off. He stepped away and nodded once. "Did you find anything potentially harmful?" he asked the others. They all shook their heads negative.

"Everything looks okay to me," Duo assured. "Clean it up a little, gather a few essentials, and we'll call it good."

Heero glanced around once more and nodded. "It will suffice."

Harry grinned. "Brilliant. This weekend we'll have time to clean up, it'll be okay to stay in the Room of Requirement till then."

* * *

Harry stayed up until three in the morning that night writing down his schedule with all the detail he could. He also gave a brief overview of his teachers and the kids he usually spent time with so that Heero would know who was who. Once that was done, Harry began the long task of identifying the kids of known Death Eaters and the ones of suspected ones. It was a depressing task, writing down all the names of students Harry knew he would probably one day have to fight. Even if most were Slytherins, it didn't change the fact they went to school together. The thought of having to fight them one day made Harry feel sick to his stomach.

The next day Harry stopped by the Room of Requirement before classes and dropped the list off to Heero. Hermione also gave them some of her books and promised to scour the library for more. They left the Marauder's Map with the five and promised to check in during their breaks. Heero didn't like the idea of letting Harry run around unsupervised but until they figured out a way to follow him without being seen, he had no choice.

Classes went by boringly for Harry, who still hadn't caught up on the material and was still pretty clueless. They checked in with his bodyguards before running down to lunch. Everyone left them alone, though people were still whispering about Harry's continuing disappearing acts. Hermione had them sat at the far end of the table, away from all the teachers and leaned in close.

"So what are we going to do about this Sunday?" she asked.

Harry had almost forgotten about the Minster's weekly visit. He put his fork down and pushed his food away, suddenly not hungry anymore.

"Well we can't hide him," Ron mused. "Because of the tracking stars. It's too bad Fred and George dropped out last year, they were masters at getting out of stuff like this."

"What about confronting the Minister directly? He has to be a reasonable person, right?"

"He didn't even bat an eye, 'Mione," Harry deadpanned. "I know you want to believe he's good, but he's not. Sorry."

"Well maybe we can confront him and tell him to shove his potion down his own throat because you're not doing it anymore," Ron suggested gleefully.

"And if he calls in Aurors to help him?"

"We'll fight them, of course! We've taken on Death Eaters, werewolves, giant snakes and spiders, and a whole load of other bad stuff. We can handle ourselves against a couple Aurors."

"And get thrown in Azkaban for our troubles?" Harry asked skeptically. "Us fighting won't work."

"What about your bodyguards then? Maybe they can do something."

"No way!" Harry yelled. He lowered his voice as a few kids looked their way. "No way. They already had their minds erased by the Minister, there's no telling what would happen to them if he saw them again. No, we're leaving them out of this."

"Isn't the entire point of a bodyguard—"

"We're leaving them out of this," Harry ground out. Ron stopped talking. "Now, short of fighting, anything else we can think of?"

"Maybe Dumbledore can help?" Hermione suggested

"If Dumbledore could have stopped this, he would have by now."

"So we're on our own then?"

"Yes. And you know what? You gave me an idea with Fred and George."

* * *

Two days later, Dobby had finished cleaning the room and it was ready for the five to move in. Harry was on his way to tell them when Hedwig found him in the hallways. She dropped a large package into his arms and settled onto his shoulder.

"Thanks girl." Harry petted her once before looking at the box. It was from Fred and George and he couldn't help but smile. He knew the twins would come through for him; they'd never let him down before. Harry turned and ran back to the tower, completely forgetting what he was doing.

Ron and Hermione were sitting near the window, secluded from the few kids up so early in the morning. Ron was poking at a chess set while Hermione read. Harry hurried straight to them and put the package on the table.

"Fred and George came through. With this I have a plan to get out of taking that potion."

"How?"

Harry opened the box and revealed some of Fred and George's most destructive and noisy pranks. He began pulling them out and handing them to his friends as he explained his plan.

"When the Minister gets here, you guys will start setting these off in front of Dumbledore's office. Start with the noisy pranks first and when someone comes out to investigate, get destructive."

"How's this going to stop them? It seems more like a distraction."

Harry pointed at a frizz-bee shaped prank. "When the gargoyle opens, one of you is going to send this up the stairs. During the confusion of trying to catch it, I'm going to 'accidentally' knock the potion over and break it."

"You can't be forced to drink a spilled potion." Ron grinned. "Brilliant."

"When does the Minister arrive?"

"Eleven o'clock and he's never late. So start the dramatics at 11:02. Be sure to take my cloak so you aren't seen."

The portrait hole opened and the students awake enough to care looked up in surprise as Professor McGonagall came in, frowning deeply in disapproval. She spotted the trio and briskly walked over. Ron and Hermione hurried to hide the pranks but Harry stopped them.

"Professor." He stared into her eyes, daring her to stop his plan. McGonagall glanced at the pranks on the table and smiled briefly before ignoring them.

"Mr. Potter, it is time for your appointment."

"Yes ma'am." Harry leaned close to his friends. "The cloak's hiding under my pillow. If anything goes wrong, run for it."

They nodded and dashed upstairs as Harry left with the Professor. He glanced at her as they walked. "I'm not going to take it anymore."

McGonagall merely nodded. "I assumed so, Mr. Potter. But if any of those pranks are left over, I will confiscate them."

They didn't say anything more until they arrived at Dumbledore's office and spoke the password. Just as the gargoyle opened, Harry felt a tug at his shirt. He looked over his shoulder but no one was there. With a large grin, Harry followed the Professor up the stairs.

Dumbledore was speaking with the paintings when they entered. He turned and greeted them and Harry noticed the lack of twinkle in his blue eyes. The boy smiled; that would change soon enough.

They waited for the Minster in silence and Harry could feel the nerves growing in his chest. He half-wished Wufei was with him to support him but knew that wasn't an option. It was too risky to let any of his bodyguards be seen. Harry had actually gotten lucky as Wufei hadn't had a chance to corner him and ask for details about why the two slept in the same bed. He still wasn't sure about how to explain that situation.

Harry fidgeted with his teacup, bringing it to his lips before putting it down without taking a sip. At eleven o'clock exactly the fireplace burst into flame and the Minister appeared with his two cohorts, Gawain Robards, Head of the Auror Department and Pius Thincknesse, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Harry took a deep breath and prepared himself.

"Prompt today, Mr. Potter," Scrimgeore said as way of greeting. "I see you're finally maturing."

Harry stared at him.

"Perhaps now you see the importance of what we're doing here."

Harry continued to stare.

"I know it's unpleasant—"

"Do you? Do you _really_?"

The Minister frowned. "Mr. Potter, you will come to understand in time that this will all be worth it when we bring You-know-who down. Now, let's begin."

Just as he finished speaking a loud shrieking sound penetrated the walls. The portraits covered their ears and grumbled in complaint. Harry allowed himself a quick smile before putting on a confused face and looking around.

"What is the meaning of this?" Scrimgeore yelled over the noise. The shrieking was soon joined by loud banging and small explosions. Harry had to cover his ears.

"It sounds like joke items from the new Weasley Wizard Wheezes," Dumbledore yelled pleasantly. "I'm afraid students manage to sneak such things in despite our rules against them." The twinkle was back in his eyes and he winked at Harry.

"Thincknesse, go down there and stop whoever or whatever is making all this racket!"

"Professor McGonagall, if you would be so kind as to accompany him?"

"Of course, Headmaster." She turned on her heel and swept from the office, leaving Thincknesse to scurry after her.

Harry braced himself as the gargoyle opened, ready to move. The noise increased as the door opened and it was only seconds before a prank was flying into the office, wrecking havoc. Two more followed shortly after. Harry grinned and ducked to the ground as the flying pranks swooped over their heads. He drew his fake wand as the Minster roared in anger and started casting spells at the annoying pranks. He still held the potion in his hand and Harry waited until his back was turned before firing off a spell.

* * *

Heero finished his set of pushups and stood, wiping sweat from his brow. The Room of Requirement provided him with a towel and Heero frowned as he grasped it. Things did not appear out of nowhere like this. He would be glad to get out of this room that tried to cater to his every need as though he were an invalid who could not take care of himself.

As was his routine, Heero walked over to the table where Potter's map was laid out. It was Sunday so he should either be in his common room, eating in the Great Hall, or en-route to either place. As Heero lifted the map, a shrieking suddenly echoed from far down the hall. The other four looked up from their various activities, confused.

"What is that?" Duo asked curiously.

Heero turned his eyes back to the map. It took a moment for him to find Harry's dot and he frowned deeply when he did. He folded the map and began for the door.

"Our charge needs to be checked on."

The other four followed him unquestioningly.

* * *

Hermione and Ron barely managed to keep quiet as they watched the Ministry wizard trying to catch all the jokes they had let off. Professor McGonagall was casually waving her wand at the joke items and shrugging when the Thincknesse glared at her lack of success. When he did manage to take one joke down, Hermione would set off another flying prank or some fireworks. Ron was in charge of making sure the pranks made it up the stairs to the Headmaster's office. It was tricky to stay covered by the cloak, but the few times it did slip, the Ministry wizard was too busy to notice and McGonagall wasn't facing in their direction.

"Do you think he's had long enough?" Ron called over the noise confident that no one would hear him but Hermione.

"Let's send one more upstairs just to be safe."

Ron nodded and prepared to aim some fireworks up the staircase. Just as he did, a stray prank shot past and blew part of the invisibility cloak from their shoulders. Hermione hurried to recover it but before she could manage, someone snatched the cloak from her hands. She and Ron gasped, wiping around with their wands drawn.

"Heero!" Hermione exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Hide!" She quickly tried to cover all three of him with the cloak but the other four appeared around the corner, ducking from the flying pranks and staring at them curiously. Hermione turned to the Ministry official and was shocked to see him stunned on the floor. Professor McGonagall was calmly putting her wand away as she stepped up to them.

"One of the pranks hit him from behind," she said coolly before turning to Heero. "So the Headmaster was right after all."

"Where is Potter?"

Before they could answer a loud scream pierced the hall and this time, it wasn't from the pranks. Hermione and Ron whipped around, both screaming, "Harry!" at the same time.

Heero was up the stairs with the other four following before anyone else had a chance to move. He kicked open the office door, gun drawn, and found Harry on the floor, clutching his arm that was drenched in blood. Dumbledore was standing over the teen protectively while Scrimgeore and Robards stood back, glaring.

"…let us see," the Minister was saying, "That potion was never meant to come in direct contact with human skin!"

"You have done enough, Scrimgeore!" Dumbledore boomed and the Minister was shocked by the lack of formality. Never, no matter the situation, had he ever failed to hear Dumbledore address someone with due respect.

Heero joined Dumbledore, pointing his weapon at the Minister as well. Duo and Quatre knelt beside Harry while Wufei and Trowa faded into the room, covering all sides. To Dumbledore's credit, he showed no surprise that the teens had appeared.

"What's this?" Scrimgeore demanded. "Who are these boys?" he stared closer. "Wait… are these the muggles you hired to hide Potter?"

"They are here with my permission," Dumbledore stated clearly. From behind him, Harry moaned in pain. "You have far overstayed your welcome, Minster. I must ask you to leave. Now."

Scrimgeore seemed to know when he was defeated. He threw his cloak around his shoulders just as McGonagall entered the office with Thincknesse. The three officials left without another word. As soon as they were gone, Ron and Hermione tossed off the invisibility cloak and hurried to Harry's side.

"What happened?" Ron exclaimed. "Didn't it work?"

"You _planned_ this?" Duo demanded.

Harry had his eyes closed tightly and his face shoved into Quatre's stomach as he tried hard not cry. He clutched his right arm to his chest and blood was spilled everywhere. Duo was carefully trying to pry Harry's hand from the wound so he could inspect it.

"He was going to use the distraction we made to break the potion!" Hermione said. "How did he get hurt?"

"The potion vial broke and it spilled on Mr. Potter's arm," Dumbledore informed them gravely. "Mr. Maxwell, if you could please pick Mr. Potter up, we must get him to the Hospital Wing immediately."

Duo managed to get a look at Harry's arm and hissed in sympathy. The skin and muscle had been burned away straight to the bone. Tears were falling from Harry's eyes and the teen had bit his lip so hard in an effort not to cry it was bleeding too. Carefully, Duo placed Harry's arm on his chest and lifted him into his arms.

"I'm sorry." Harry whispered. "I just… I just wanted it to stop."

"Shh. It's okay, Harry." Hermione whispered playing with her friend's hair. "I think we got our point across."

"It's going to be fine, mate."

Duo gently pushed past the two hurried to the Hospital Wing just as Harry passed out from blood loss and pain.

**A/N: Well the Ministry didn't quite get their asses kicked but they have been stopped rather effectively. It'll be a while before they appear again. I loved the scene with the D.A. and Ron and Harry's mock fight. Did anyone notice a very angry Heero try to come out of hiding to stop it only to be pulled back by his friends? I giggled when I wrote that part. And also those of you waiting for some Harry/Wufei pairing, it won't be much longer now. I think I'll leave the comments at this.**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**


	15. I Don't Need Your Help No Really

**Short chapter this time around. Sorry I didn't update last week but I was focused on finishing Inspired. So for those of you who don't know, I have another HP/GW crossover that's finished! **

**As for this one, I want to get moving with it. I want to get this finished. I think I'm going to increase the update speed. I'll try and update again on Wednesday. We'll see how my work schedule is.**

**Enjoy.**

**Chapter Fifteen: I Don't Need Your Help. No, Really. I Don't.**

When Harry woke up it was nighttime. His bodyguards were scattered about the Hospital Wing with Heero sitting next to his bed. Madam Pomfrey was bustling around with her potions before she disappeared into her office. Harry carefully lifted up his arm and stared at the white bandage wrapped thickly from his wrist, including his thumb and pointer finger, to his elbow.

"You are currently having your skin and muscles re-grown," Heero reported dully as he noticed Harry awake. Harry glanced at him.

"It's better than having the bone re-grown. I had to do that in my second year. It hurt."

"You wizards are insane," Duo informed him cheerfully tossing a book aside and jumping onto Harry's bed. Harry caught the book title.

"You're studying magic?"

"We are learning as much as we can so to be better able to protect you," Quatre said. "Though that is rather difficult when you do something as reckless as this."

Harry carefully sat up in bed, wincing when he put weight on his hurt arm. "I honestly didn't think it would turn out that way. How'd you guys know, anyways?"

"That is not important. You never should have had attempted something that could be even remotely dangerous without any of us with you. Harry, your friend's told us everything. If we had known about this potion we would have put a stop to it right away _without_ you getting hurt."

"The Minister would have seen you."

"Hermione explained all of that to us as well." Quatre frowned. "And it is wholly beside the point. We are willing to risk danger to ourselves to protect our charge."

Harry frowned up at him. "But I'm not willing to let you risk it."

"And why do you get to make our decisions?" Wufei demanded with a glare.

Harry glared right back. "For the same reason you make mine."

"We are protecting you!"

Harry offered him a smug smile.

"Harry, that's a little redundant, don't you think?" Quatre asked gently. "The charge can't protect the bodyguards." Harry didn't answer and instead picked at his bandages. He had never liked wearing the white gauze; it was too itchy and everyone could see it.

Heero reached out and grabbed his hands, forcing them apart. "Do not pick at it."

"So… what is happening?"

"Apparently that potion that guy has been feeding you is completely off the record and juuuuust barely legal. They can only get away with it because they have legal guardianship of you," Duo explained. "Even so, they want to keep it quiet. So since the guy was here unofficially, he saw us unofficially."

Harry frowned up at him. "So? What does that matter? He still saw you."

"It's politics, Harry," Quatre answered. "He could do something about knowing we are here but if he does, we'll turn around and not only say everything he did to us, but everything he's done to you as well."

Harry's eyes widened and Quatre covered a laugh. "Of course, we wouldn't actually do it. But the Minister doesn't need to know that."

"But he still _knows_."

"And will not act on that knowledge for fear of his secrets becoming public." Quatre said patiently. "Getting rid of us is not worth the risk."

Harry sat back against his pillows and crossed his arms but flinched a second later and unfolded them. "I still don't like it. This will blow up in our faces. All of it."

Quatre smiled while Duo laughed loudly. "We're used to that."

Harry offered a tiny smile just as Madam Pomfrey re-entered the room.

* * *

"Hermione this is almost as bad as that damn potion," Harry whined throwing himself back on the bed dramatically.

"Harry, you are nearly five months behind in your school work. I don't care how much you hate it, you will be caught up before Christmas break even if I have to ask Madam Pomfrey to keep you locked in here and not allow any visitors."

"That's just cruel." In his mind he mentally cursed Ron, who was at Quidditch practice right then. Harry had been forced to give up his spot on the team for the year due to his lack of attendance and now injured arm. "Come on Hermione, give me a break. Please?"

In response, Hermione held out his History of Magic textbook and dropped it on his lap. Harry scowled but opened the book obediently.

"The essay needs to be two feet long," Hermione told him pulling out parchment and a quill. "I'll write so you just tell me what you want it to say." Dutifully, Harry began flipping through the first few chapters and dictating his report. He had to admit he was glad Hermione was the one writing. Every time he got something wrong she would frown deeply and slow her writing just slightly. It was enough of an indication for Harry to stop and look up his facts again.

After four hours straight of homework, finally Harry managed to get caught up with everything related to History of Magic. Now he only had about… six more classes to go. He really hoped they wouldn't be as boring as this one.

Hermione put away all his school books. "This was really great, Harry." She spoke happily. "We got a lot done. When you go back to classes tomorrow you can turn this into Professor Binns and be back on track for one class, at least. I'll write up a schedule for you so that you can do the rest of your work during the week."

"How exciting. What time is it?"

"Dinner's about to start," Hermione answered. "Are you feeling up to getting something?"

"Yeah—"

"You will be having dinner in the Hospital Wing," Heero suddenly spoke up. He was sitting on the bed next to Harry with an open magic book on his lap. He didn't even look up as he spoke.

"Why? I feel fine and I've been cooped up in here for two days."

"Until your arm is fully healed you will leave the Hospital Wing only for classes which you will attend only if two of us are with you at all times."

Harry stared at him in disbelief. "When was this decided?"

"When you were passed out."

Harry gawked at him. "I want to go have dinner with my friends."

"Not until you are fully healed."

The tone of finality in Heero's voice had Harry stumped. He had heard Heero's 'final voice' enough times to know the teen wouldn't budge for anything. And there was no way he would be able to sneak away, not with Heero right next to him, Duo guarding the door, Trowa watching the window, and Quatre and Wufei patrolling the hallways for potential threats.

"So you're gonna make me sit in here all by myself? What about the D.A.?"

"You will not participate."

Harry began to argue but Hermione placed a hand on his uninjured arm. "How about Ron and I get our dinner and then come back here to eat with you?"

Harry was glaring at Heero. Heero ignored him. "That would be acceptable."

"All right, we'll see you in a few minutes."

Harry sighed in defeat and offered her a small smile. "Thanks Hermione."

After she left, Harry did his absolute best not to sit and pout but he couldn't help scowling at Heero every so often. So he had screwed up. That didn't mean he deserved to be under hospital arrest. Harry had come up with a plan that he had thought was a good idea. If the potion hadn't broken over his arm then it would have worked perfectly. It might have been dangerous and a little risky but at the time Harry had thought it was the most effective way to handle things.

He leaned back and stared at the ceiling. It wasn't long before Ron and Hermione showed up with Dobby in tow, floating mounds of food after him. Harry had to suppress a sigh at the little elf. He always went overboard.

The food was passed around and Dobby, left beaming at the thanks he received. As they ate, Ron filled Harry in on everything that was going on with the team. Ginny had taken his Seeker position and they were still trying to find a good chaser to replace her. They talked strategy and formation for most of the time and Hermione got bored and read a book while she ate. They stayed with Harry until curfew and then bid everyone goodbye.

Harry stretched and made himself comfortable. "Are you guys going to spend the entire night here?" he asked.

"Yes."

Harry sighed. "You and your missions." He muttered and rolled over to sleep.

* * *

Harry shivered as his body felt a chill in the air. He scrunched his face up and tried to pull the blankets closer to him, but they weren't there. He felt around and realized that his clothes were gone too. Confused, Harry opened his eyes and sat up. All around him was nothing. He was no longer in the Hospital Wing but in a place that was completely black and freezing cold.

Suddenly memories came flashing back to him. The first time he had taken the potion this was where he had come. A special place designed by Voldemort just for him. The potion was a trap and so was the vision he had spoken before. No wonder there was so much pain involved; Voldemort had used the potion to weaken Harry's mental defenses and then possessed him so that Voldemort could use Harry's voice to tell everyone what he wanted.

Harry gasped and shot to his feet, looking around desperately for a way out. Laughter echoed around him and Harry froze, feeling the blood in his veins turn cold. He turned around and there was Voldemort as his younger self. He was sitting in an elaborately decorated throne with gold and jewels sewed in the velvet fabric. One leg was crossed over the other as he smirked at Harry.

"Welcome back, Harry Potter," Voldemort greeted, a cruel smile twisting his lips. "I was starting to worry you weren't going to join me."

"I didn't take the potion! Why am I here?"

"You do not need to ingest it for the potion to work," Voldemort assured. "It may take longer this way but it is still just as effective."

"What is this potion?" Harry demanded. "How did you get the Ministry to develop it?"

Voldemort shrugged. "That is not important."

"Like hell it isn't!" Harry yelled. "How dare you use my head to further your plots! You think I won't remember this in the morning? Now that I know what's happening—"

A black tendril appeared from the darkness and wrapped around Harry's mouth. The teen clawed at it but more tendrils appeared to pin his hands and restrain him.

"I don't care if you remember," Voldemort told him as he rose gracefully from his seat. Harry glared at him with pure malice. "Because whether or not you remember doesn't matter. You won't be able to speak a single word of this to anyone." He smiled, dragging a long finger down Harry's cheek. "You'll know exactly what is going to happen but not be able to stop it." He leaned in close. "Now, this is what I want you to tell Dumbledore…"

* * *

Harry could barely force his eyes open. It was taking every bit of his willpower to pry them apart just a slit. Voldemort was still in his head, connected through the potion still coursing through Harry's veins. The Dark Lord was imposing his will on Harry's mind, forcing him to bow to his wishes. Harry was fighting back as best he could, but he did not have the mental discipline needed to fight off someone with as much skill and power as Voldemort.

He managed to open his eyes and tried to focus on anything besides the pain blooming in his head. Heero was still in the bed next to him but his eyes were closed and he was asleep. That meant one of the others was on guard duty. With great effort, Harry forced his head to twist so he could see the other side of the room. Trowa and Quatre were asleep across from him and Harry couldn't see Duo. He titled his eyes up and saw Wufei by the window. Hope flooded him as the teen was awake and staring outside.

Harry tried to speak but his voice wouldn't respond. He felt Voldemort's control tighten and flinched in pain. Harry stared at Wufei, willing him to look up, look over at him. He just had to glance up! Heero was always checking on him why couldn't Wufei do the same? If only they still slept together, then Harry would be able to get his attention for sure.

He thought his eyes were going to start watering but Voldemort could even stop that. He screamed Wufei's name over and over in his mind, begging the teen to just glance –just glance!— over at him. Harry kept his head tilted to the side for as long as possible but Wufei never looked up. Slowly, his muscles relaxed and Harry couldn't hold his head titled backwards any longer. As his chin fell to his chest, the pain began to recede, as if Voldemort was rewarding him for his good behavior. Harry felt sick but couldn't throw up.

Just as he gave up and began to let his eyes close to escape the pain, a hand was placed on his forehead. Harry's heart skipped a beat and it took all his effort to once again open his eyes. He saw Wufei standing over him and wanted to cry in relief. Now he could get help. Wufei could tell Dumbledore and Dumbledore could get Voldemort out of his head. Harry still couldn't speak but he managed to open his mouth a couple times.

"Harry?" Wufei whispered. "Are you all right?"

Harry took a deep breath and because he couldn't speak, mouthed the word "help" twice before white hot pain blossomed within his head and Harry's eyes glazed over as he passed out.

* * *

"I'm telling you Wufei, you're imaging things."

"I do not imagine things!"

"Then you're just wrong. I didn't ask you or anyone else for help."

"Yes, you did."

It was the next morning and Harry's head was hurting but not enough to show. Wufei had hurried to get help after Harry had managed to ask him but nothing could be done. Madam Pomfrey said there was nothing wrong aside from his arm still being hurt. Now Wufei was insisting something was wrong but Harry denied everything.

Inside, Harry was fuming. He had tried to tell them about what happened but hadn't been able to. Voldemort had put some sort of block on his mind that prevented him from speaking about the situation. Every time he tried, pain erupted in his head and if he tried to force himself to speak anyways, the pain spread to his throat and choked him. Harry had woken everyone in the room after a coughing fit but had been forced to say he had merely choked on some water.

Wufei was glaring at him in angry disbelief. They had thought they had gotten through to Harry and convinced him to rely on them. The fact that he had asked for help last night supported that but now Harry was denying everything. How were they supposed to do a good job helping this kid when he refused to let them?

Harry was frowning up at Wufei, just barely managing not to pout. Wufei glared at the younger boy who glared right back. This child had to be the most frustrating person Wufei had ever met. He was fiercely independent and never knew when to back down and ask for help. He reminded Wufei greatly of Heero during the war, only more emotional and nowhere near as skilled. He pushed Wufei's buttons in a way not even Duo managed.

And the ghost-feeling in his chest… Ever since Wufei had first laid eyes on Harry Potter a feeling had tugged at his chest. It was faint and easily ignored but Wufei prided himself on being in complete control of his emotions at all times. Harry Potter was the first person he had ever met who made him lose that control. With Maxwell it was different. Duo made him angry but Wufei could always control himself if he so chose to. When it came to Harry, Wufei felt irrational. When the boy had asked him for help last night with pain filled eyes Wufei had wanted to take him into his arms and soothe him. When he had seen Harry collapsed in Dumbledore's office he had wanted to draw his gun and murder the Minister and his men right then and there.

Wufei couldn't understand these feelings. He barely knew this child and yet he felt as though he was someone precious to his heart. Wufei could count the number of people he considered precious on two hands and, until recently, Harry Potter was not among that number. But as Wufei glared at the defiant little brat he began to wonder if Harry really wasn't just a charge and maybe had started to become something more.

Wufei frowned as he spoke. "I will figure this out."

"There is nothing to figure out."

"All right you two, separate corners…?" Duo called uncertainly.

"Madam Pomfrey, you're absolutely certain Harry's fine, other than his arm?"

The medi-witch frowned, offended that he would even ask. "Of course. I stand by my diagnostic. Aside from being severely accident prone, Mr. Potter is in perfect health at the moment."

Harry finally turned away from Wufei to frown in annoyance at Pomfrey. "I am not accident prone!"

Pomfrey made a sound of intense disbelief and turned on her heel to head back to her office. Her work was done for the moment. Harry crossed his arms and flinched when his right arm flared with pain. He glared down at it.

Quatre sighed. "Perhaps what Wufei saw last night was only a onetime thing?" he suggested. "Maybe Harry was sick then and is fine now?"

"I wasn't sick!"

"It could be possible that whatever it was made it so the kid can't remember," Duo said. Harry glared at him.

"That seems most likely," Quatre agreed. "We will have to keep a closer eye on him, I suppose."

Harry stared at him in disbelief. "You don't even let me go to the bathroom unsupervised. How could you possibly keep a closer eye on me?"

Duo grinned and shook his head. "Harry, Harry, Harry," he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Never ask that question when Heero's sitting right next to you."

Harry glanced at Heero was staring at him emotionlessly. Duo tutted and straightened up. "You guys should get going to your meeting with Dumbledore. Me and Wufei and Trowa will watch the kid like a hawk." He pushed his eyelids open wider with his fingers.

"We should be back within an hour," Quatre said. "We'll check in if it takes longer."

"We'll be here," Duo promised.

"Hn." Heero stood and he and Quatre left the Hospital Wing, making sure to close and lock the doors behind them. Duo and Trowa settled themselves down comfortably but Wufei frowned. He turned to his friends.

"I would like you both to patrol the halls for threats."

Duo blinked at him and even Trowa raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Why's that Wuffers?"

"I wish to speak to Potter."

"Go ahead, no one's stopping you."

Wufei frowned at him. "It is a private matter."

"Oh?" Duo grinned cheekily. "So you and our charge here have _private_ matters, do you?" he stood. "Well, we wouldn't want to get in the way of that, now would we, Trowa?"

Trowa stood as well, glancing at Harry's confused face. "We will not go far," he said quietly. "Send Madam Pomfrey to retrieve us when you are finished."

Wufei nodded. "Understood."

"See ya in few, kiddo." Duo waved to Harry. "Enjoy your _private_ matters." The door shut behind them with a bang.

Wufei turned to Harry. "Harry Potter."

Harry shot him a funny look. "Wufei Chang."

Wufei scowled and took Heero's abandoned seat. "I have been meaning to ask you of this matter but have not found an opportune time."

"What is it?"

Wufei shifted and looked decidedly uncomfortable. "I wish to inquire about what you said in the cave."

Harry stiffened. "You mean about us sleeping together?"

"Yes."

Harry shuffled his sheets and didn't look at Wufei. Already he could feel his cheeks heating up from what promised to be a very awkward conversation. In the back of his mind he thought he felt a presence stir but ignored it. Voldemort was not currently in his mind even if his magic was.

Wufei waited for an answer but when one wasn't forthcoming he grew impatient. "Well?" he demanded. "You said that you and I had shared a room but you mentioned nothing of us sharing a bed."

"We didn't," Harry answered quietly looking anywhere but at Wufei. "At least, not at first."

"Then why and when?"

"It was right after Snowball got burned. I started having nightmares before that and you were sleeping on the couch because Snow had ruined your bed. At night I would toss and turn and talk in my sleep and you always woke me up." He half-smiled. "You had to pin me down a couple of times because I tried to attack you when you did."

Wufei raised an eyebrow at him but Harry was looking away and didn't notice.

"Um, I had a vision one night and it left me sick." He finally glanced at Wufei briefly before turning away. "I told you about that."

"I remember."

"Well after that, I stopped sleeping all together. I worked until my body collapsed." Harry allowed a tiny smile to grace his face. "Heero got so fed up with me always being awake he threatened to drug me if I didn't sleep."

Wufei had no trouble believing that.

"After that… I don't really know how or why it started but you were helping me to train Snow and I was so exhausted. You told me to lie down and go to sleep and that you would stay with me so that if I had a nightmare, you would wake me up right away. I agreed and… and that was it. After that I just started sleeping next to you because you always woke me up. I was… I was too afraid to sleep otherwise."

Wufei nodded slowly. "So you depended on me."

"I'm sorry for not saying anything," Harry muttered, picking at his bandages again. "I didn't think you'd want me to say anything in front of the others."

Wufei nodded. "It is a personal matter. Thank you for your consideration on my part." He reached over and stopped Harry from picking at the gauze. Harry jumped slightly in surprise and lifted his head. Their faces were inches apart and Wufei was confused as to why Harry's eyes were slightly damp.

"Why did you—" Harry stopped speaking abruptly.

"Why did I what?"

Harry jerked his hands away and turned his head. "Never mind. You wouldn't know the answer anyways."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you don't remember, Wufei," Harry whispered. "It's not fair." He ground his teeth together. "Why do you get to forget? Why don't I get my explanation?" he stood abruptly. "I need to go to the bathroom."

"Harry!"

Harry ignored him and ran into the bathroom attached to the Hospital Wing. He slammed the door shut and locked it, sliding down the wood. After a moment he heard Wufei speaking to Madam Pomfrey and asked her to retrieve Duo and Trowa. Harry buried his face in his knees.

"Why did you kiss me?" Harry didn't realize that as he sat on the floor with his face hidden, Wufei stared at the other side of the door and felt a powerful sense of grief deep in his chest.

**A/N: So Voldemort is stuck in Harry's head semi-permanently. And poor Harry can't do anything about it, he can't even tell his friends. I enjoyed writing the teen angst at the end. Next chapter will be fun for the Wufei/Harry shippers. Thanks for reading.**

**On a side note, I started writing a HP/Final Fantasy 7 crossover. I'm having a lot of fun with it but I'm not sure if I want to post it. Would anyone be interested? There's not a lot of HP/FF7 crossovers out there and from what I can tell, mine is kinda original (I hesitate to use that word because I haven't read many). I don't know what to do.**

**Please Review! I love reviews. They get the creative mojo going.**


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